Legend of the Black Cat
by Volleys-chan
Summary: Bulma had read many myths about black cats. They were either good luck or bad luck, good or evil, and it was all by how they were looked upon by others. Imagine her surprise when she met an alien that was the epitome of that concept. Pre-Dragonball AU.
1. The Man who Fell to Earth

Okay, you are going to kill me aren't you? You are sitting there staring at this wondering if you should even bother reading another of my stories after I have failed to update for the past few weeks. Yes, my bad, but this is a prompt challenge for the LiveJournal I am apart of. The challenge is to use Christmas prompts to write one whole story and there are going to be 24 prompts, so hopefully I can wrap it up in twenty-four chapters or less. Hopefully 24 chapters. that is my goal and I have till January 7th. I have no PS3 or PS2 since I am going to visit my family in another state, so no video games to distract me. _Sigh._

At least I'm not stuck in a hotel anymore due to flooding at my apartment at my university... at least they paid for it for _three weeks_! Gosh, I thought I would begin to crawl up the walls in sheer boredom. There was no inspiration and a ton of homework and the only good channels on tv was nick and sometimes cartoon network (Has anyone else noticed the severe drop of good cartoons?) So it was either watch Avatar the last Airbender for the umptenth time or stare at the wall... and imagine doing so for three weeks...

Sorry, a little frustrated. So, here is the new story with a huge twist.

It is playing off the idea if Vegeta came to planet earth at a much younger age, before the first Dragonball hunt... How would it change things? How would it change him? Bulma? Goku? Puar? Yamcha? So, let me set up the ages because it will be getting a little confusing at first. Vegeta is 16 and Bulma is 15 when it all first starts.

This prompt is **Lights**.

This is all experimental and feedback is wonderful, tell me what you really think.

Read and enjoy.

* * *

If there was one thing Vegeta could remember about his childhood, it had to be the lights that would décor the halls at the change of the season. His mother had been raised by her sire to become a great priestess, however, it changed the moment that his father had laid eyes on her. He was often told by Nappa that there had been an instant connection between the two.

"Your mother was the only one who could get his Majesty to 'lighten up'." Nappa had once told him.

Vegeta, even as a small child, had believed it. His mother had an air around her that made even his usually stiff and unmovable father relax his shoulders and laugh heartily at his mate's antics. His mother was a free-spirit who not even his father could tame. She came and did as she pleased, when she pleased.

Spoiled would often be the word thrown at her by his father's brothers and sisters, but she would laugh at their faces and accuse them of being the same thing. She was right, so usually it made them back off.

The lights had been her thing. She said that the changing of the seasons allowed the barriers of physical plane and spiritual to weaken, allowing those with the right eyes the sight to see the lingering ki of past life. The lights were made of her ki as she lit each glass like globe and hung them about the castle, trying to catch the glimpses of the lingering ki of the dead that they would no doubt attract.

He had seen it, the ki that flickered in and out of the physical plane, on several occasions, always running to his mother to show her of his discovery. The two would then sit and watch as the ki of the dead danced about the lights, enjoying the offering of energy and solace before disappearing forever.

No one but his mother, himself, his little brother Tarble, and a few others could even see such a wondrous spectacle and he felt pity for what they were missing. Even Nappa could never see the ki and it made him as a child sad that his mother's oldest friend couldn't see such beautiful lights as the dead ki danced happily in one last dedication to their beloved planet before leaving forever to be with its soul in the Garden of Eden with goddess Evangeline Vegiit.

His best memory of Vegeta-sei was sitting in his mother's lap as they sat on the floor of the ballroom watching as the ki of at least twenty dead souls danced around the room in an amazing spectacle, Tarble ooh-ing and ahh-ing as he clapped his hands constantly, glancing at his brother to make sure he was enjoying it too. Their father in the corner, pretending to be inpatient as he watched his children and mate happily watch what was unseen by his own eyes.

To say that his life hadn't been shattered when he discovered that meteorites had wiped out his entire planet would be an awfully bad understatement. His heart felt ripped from his chest and stomped upon, but he did his best to swallow the bile that had raised in his throat and utter the words "I don't care" while forcing his snack into his mouth when he would have rather starved himself.

He pretended not to see the kit lights if he did. The dull ache would still pang in his heart uncomfortably. He had hoped to fade with his men into the large army that was Freiza's army, but unfortunately, that was not so. And sometimes seeing those lights were the only thing that pulled him through.

* * *

Faint sounds, muffled voices. The sound of his lungs drowning in blood in his ears. It almost seemed like a dream, but the constant pain kept him grounded in reality.

His right eye hurt. A lot.

He coughed up a few globs of blood, wheezing for air.

The persecutor was gone for now, leaving him to wallow in his pain, but he would not cry, he would not snivel, he would not do any they wanted him to do. He hated his small size, it was shameful and disgusting to be so small at his age. He should have grown by now.

Something touched him, making him jolt and look around in the haze. A mind touched his tentatively as if seeing if he lived.

Voices.

His dialect, not the pathetic standard they all were forced to speak.

He tried to focus, but he could not.

Out and in.

In and out.

Out and in.

His wrists were free and his legs dangled loosely in the secure hold he was in.

In and out.

Out and in.

Someone was gently placing him somewhere to sit. His ribs tried to retaliate, but there was nothing he could do. Soon after the spray of the hibernation gas finally put him to sleep.

May Evangeline Vegiit smile upon his destiny and guide him to a place he could heal. Hopefully he survived planet fall.

* * *

It had to be the discovery of the century! It was amazing to even suggest that the concept was real. All her life, she had been told it was impossible, but the evidence was right there in front of her. However, she almost pouted, this was one discovery that her family would never take credit for, let alone mention to others.

For what troubles would follow if the world knew of the existence of aliens?

Fading lavender fringes where pulled away from her sapphire blue eyes. Her poppa had her same hair color, but always reminded her that the females in the his family's hair always turned a ocean blue. It was already happening to her, her once childish lavender locks fading and slowly becoming a brilliant blue.

And who was she? Well she was Bulma Briefs, heir to the small corporation known as Capsule Corps. Her family was rich, but she knew that her father's company could become much, much more.

This alien could be the rise to fame, but her father had used a gag contract to keep his existence from leaking out. Anyone who squealed even a sound of his existence would be charged with treason to the company, sued for more than they were worth, and would never find another job as long as Capsule Corps existed.

And Bulma could not blame her father's kindheartedness. She gently touched the small hand of the alien. The skin was an olive toned color that tanned beautifully, even though it currently was blotched looking with sickly yellow, blue, and purple bruises, and was callused in places like his palms, but it felt just like a human's skin texture. This alien had already been through so much and that had been way before he even got to Earth.

She dared to glance at his face, tubes being shoved through his noise, down his throat, and anywhere else they could be placed to keep him alive. The poor boy had been in bad condition when his pod had crashed and it had surprised her family, who had been out in a meadow for a rare family picnic, that he had managed to stand for a good five minutes before crashing to the ground unconscious.

She glanced at the sterile white eye patch, shivering at the memory of his eye hanging out of its socket, like it had been purposely ripped out. They had to change the eye patch at times for his eye, which they managed to put back in, wept blood from time to time. Her father said that might never go away, but would only happen on rare, stressful occasions. His ribs had been sticking out in a sick way while some looked like they pierced his internal organs and his some intestines ready to spill from his gut. His fingers hadn't even looked straight, all crooked and wrong. Broken jaw, dislocated joints, broken and fractured bones, pulled and torn muscles, lacerations, white scar tissue from long time abuse, and… Bulma pulled herself from the memory, almost in tears at the cruel condition he had come to them in.

The doctors said he was making a marvelous recovery, but the only problem was they couldn't dislodge the device welded around his neck without killing him. They didn't know what it did, but from what they guessed, it kept him weak and frail. The poor body looked like that of a small child and the doctors said he would be very frail and sickly, especially since there was a unknown poison running through his veins that kept most of his white blood cells from attacking incoming infection and viruses. There was no antidote on Earth. Colds and fevers would keep him in bed for weeks where it usually would only keep someone in bed for a day or two.

Bulma looked watery eyed. Who could do this to a child? He looked like any normal human child, save the tail was attached to his spine via the tailbone. The removal of the tail would paralyze him, so it remained since he had suffered enough.

She had been coming in here since she had met him. Barely able to stand, but so much pride in that single black eye that remained in its socket. He had walked out of that ship, to them, before evaluating them and falling unconscious. That look kept her coming back. Kept her curious about the small child that rested in the bed, fighting for his life. The moment her blue eyes laid upon his black one there had been a connection of the soul. And while Bulma usually was a skeptic at such ideas, she couldn't deny the sudden connection at that moment and the feeling of lingering close by and protecting his prone, weakened body.

A kindred spirit. She had not known him long, but she almost sense he was a lot like her. Maybe that's what made her wish to remain around him even more.

Bulma jumped lightly at the sudden grasp of her hand. It was strong, but not painful, like she sensed it had been intended to be. Her hand that had been touching his small hand was now grasped in his. Her eyes darted up to his good eye and noticed the dark glare she received. The tension around him was thick, and though he was not lucid, she could almost feel his fear and confusion.

"Hi," She whispered, sitting on the bed to get closer to his face, "My name is Bulma Briefs. You are on planet Earth." Her voice caught for a moment before she continued, his eye on her and despite all the tubes shoved down his nose and throat he look dignified, "My family found you and you're now receiving medical attention."

She almost jumped when she felt something, not physical but more spiritual, touch her mind. _Frieza?_

Her face scrunched, and she guessed the best as she could, "I don't know anyone or anything by that name. Or is that a word from your language?"

Images flashed through her mind, but the feeling that she got was Frieza was a person… or an alien. Pink and white lizard like monster that made her stomach lurch at the way the image looked at her with the promise of pain or suffering. The feelings that this one had for him were dark and hostile and perhaps fearful. She gleamed as much from the picture of the twisted being that he was not good.

"No. There is no one here by that name. My planet isn't very space travel savvy yet," She told him, "Yet anyways. My father is smart enough to design working space crafts, but my planet isn't ready for that."

She suddenly got the sense that he felt she talked too much. "Do you even understand what I'm saying?"

His stare told her that he could guess, but didn't know exactly.

She sighed, so much for that conversation, though she was absolutely giddy at the idea of telepathic abilities. Think of all the things one could do with such gifts. Before, however, she got carried away with that tangent, she thought of something important.

"What's your name?"

It came softly, but she could tell he was answering her question correctly. _Vegeta._

With that, his eye drooped and soon he was asleep again, still holding on to her hand as he did. She smiled, lightly pushing his bangs out of his face in a tender caress.

"Sleep well, Vegeta." She smiled, giving the little child a tender kiss on the forehead before heading to her father to report what she had learned about their guest.


	2. Days of Recovery

So, I got a lot of positive feedback. Yes, a few were completely confused at some parts, but as any good mystery, it comes into light as the story goes along. Sometimes not knowing the answer will make you search for it as the story progresses. This is chapter two! And it is three times as long. Hope you enjoy that. Now that I'm home, no where near crying babies or toddlers or _anything loud_. I have a ton of time to devote to this story. It's going to be interesting (or so I hope) and I'll do my best to twist things up.

But to clear things up. Vegeta was tortured, someone freed him, and he crashed on earth near where the Briefs were having a picnic. Hopefully that clears things up.

This prompt is **Stockings**

This is all experimental and feedback is wonderful, tell me what you really think.

Read and enjoy.

* * *

"So can we keep him?" Bulma asked hopefully, "I always wanted a little brother!"

Dr. Briefs shook his head as he continued on in his studies, "No, Bulma dear, he is not a pet to be kept. He is an intellectual being, just like you or me and no doubt would not appreciate being kept like a lost puppy."

"So what? Are you just going to heal him, then throw him to the streets once he's better?" Bulma looked enraged at that thought.

He couldn't be older than six and here her father wasn't giving into the idea of keeping him with them.

"No Bulma," Briefs sighed again, "That's not what I meant. What I am trying to say is that you can't look at him like he is a stray. He probably has someone looking for him."

"The only name he mentioned was a guy named Frieza and he was the one who did that to him," Bulma raged.

Dr. Briefs turned to look at his daughter in shock, "He spoke?"

Bulma bit her lip as she tried to explain it, "Well… not really. It was more like he projected images into my head along with a name. His name is Vegeta."

"Vegeta," her father tested it out with his own tongue before sighing, "We will let him stay with us as long as he needs to, but we should let him decide if he wants to be apart of the family."

With a happy squeal, Bulma hugged her dad before turning and taking off. She had school, even if she spent all her spare time watching over Vegeta's unconscious body, and if she didn't get to her first class on time, Professor Plum might actually throw her out of the class this time. And Professor Plum was the only one who understood bio-mechanics like her family. So as quickly as she could, she made one last dash to Vegeta's room before heading to hers to get on her pencil skirt as well as heels and stockings. Professor Plum had always been a stickler for being professional in her class.

When she came back from college, she didn't even bother to change before she sat by Vegeta's bed and began to do her homework, slowly being lost in her work until she felt that touch upon her mind again.

"Evening Vegeta," She greeted him, pulling away from her work.

He glared at her darkly, but for some strange reason she didn't feel insulted or angered by it. The kid had every right to be mistrusting. After all, someone had to done _this_ to him.

"Feeling better?" she asked, gently reaching to touch his cheek.

He flinched when she touched him, tensing greatly but looked more disgusted with himself than at her touching him. She used the back of her knuckles to caress the skin gently for a long time until she felt him loosen his muscles.

"That's a good boy," She whispered, trying to keep him calm. He was going to have to trust her and her family if he was to stay here.

"I talked to my father," she told him, thinking up a image of her father so he could see it, since she still could sense his mind touching hers, "He said you can stay."

He eyed her for a moment, contemplating all that he knew and all that had been said before reluctantly nodding, sending a wave of agreement to her thoughts. Bulma smiled, happy at his agreement.

"Oh! You'll love it here. Momma makes the best food and she throws the greatest parties and Poppa is really smart! He owns this corporation that is currently the leading company in technology and research and one day I am going to run it for him as soon as I finish getting my degrees! I want to be one of those heiresses that actually earn the money that she spends and I have seen all the other girls, you know what? They are stuck up snobs! But you won't have to worry about that till you are older." She told him before she felt his mind pull back after being overwhelmed again.

She could tell, when he finally touched minds again, that he _really_ thought she talked too much.

"Sorry," she said, rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment, "I forgot you can't really understand what I am saying."

He rolled his eye as he watched her. Bulma stuck out her tongue at his gesture, returning the favor. His eye widened at her spirit. No one had ever done that to him, usually they were too frightened of him to be friendly, not that he wanted anyone to be his friend.

If it wasn't for all these things hooked up to him, he would of showed her who was boss, but alas, he was too weak, too tired. She seemed to notice, this girl who had decided to force her company upon him, for she pulled up his covers, fluffing the pillow he laid his head upon.

"You are still recovering," She told him, "You should go back to sleep. I will watch over you, okay?"

Vegeta looked at her with a strong stare. She was nothing but a stick on legs! How was she suppose to protect him? Regardless, he couldn't move, not even his tail. There was no doubt some sort of local running through his veins making him drowsy and despite what he willed of his body he soon fell asleep as the strange haired girl worked adamantly on her studies.

* * *

"Come on, my boy, let's have a look," Dr. Briefs said, coaxing the small child to open his mouth.

He had slowly improved where he no longer required a breathing tube or feeding tube, so now it was time to see the damage done to his dental work. The boy had sharp teeth for such a little kid, all of them jagged and easily able to tear the flesh off of anything.

However, the problem was that Vegeta was against the idea of having his mouth open for anything that wasn't Dr. Briefs's wife's cooking. That included the dental mirror he wanted to use to see into his mouth.

A series of growls were made as he wrestled with the boy, finally forcing his jaw open. He vaguely wondered how much harder this task would be if the boy was in good health. He smiled at the sight of the pearly white teeth as the boy snarled and growled at him all while trying to reclose his mouth. Only a few looked to be in bad shape, enough that they would just have to pull them.

"There we go," Dr. Briefs finally sighed out, pulling his hands and fingers away fast as Vegeta snapped his mouth shut. He turned to talk to the other doctors in the room to give them his conclusion, "Only a few teeth need to be pulled, so get the anapestic ready and we'll get that done before Bulma comes home. Kami knows she'll never forgive us otherwise."

Vegeta's stomach dropped at the sound of more medicines and the diagnosis. Pulled? They wanted to pull some _teeth_? Sure, they'd grow back, but that hurt like hell! No way was he going to let them pull teeth, even if a few of these ones ached.

When Dr. Briefs turned to give him the shot, he showed him just how well his teeth still worked.

* * *

Bulma quickly hopped towards the room that Vegeta was taking resident in. Everything was going great with Vegeta, well… as well as it could be with as many open wounds, lacerations, and broken bones that he had and that metal device was found to be impossible to take off. It caused him to go into cardiac arrest and sent a nice shock to whoever touched it.

That day had been scary. She thought Vegeta would be a goner, but the boy lived to prove people wrong. She noticed her dad in one of the medical rooms nearby Vegeta's room and popped her head in. There was her father with several doctors around him pulling teeth out of his arm.

Bulma gasped as she barreled into the room, "Daddy! What happened?"

Dr. Briefs looked at his daughter with an embarrassed look before he winced and went back to watching them get the remaining teeth out of his arm, "Vegeta decided to show me how nice his bite is."

Bulma stared at him unbelieving before looking at the nice bite mark on his arm. Most of the teeth that had been in there crumbled or cracked as they were being pulled, making it harder for the others. Bulma couldn't believe it. Vegeta had never bitten her and she almost always had her hands near his mouth.

She turned her gaze onto her father. She loved the man, but she knew that he wasn't always respectful of boundaries.

"What did you do to him!"

"Me!" He tried to act innocent, "I was the one who was bitten!"

Her hard glare told him she wasn't buying it. He sighed, "I was checking his teeth and several were beyond repair. I was going to give him some locals and pull the teeth."

"Well no wonder he bit you!" Bulma roared, "He's had enough pain, Poppa and you have to remember he is cautious and timid around medicine."

She turned on her heel, heading out, "I am going to go make sure he's okay!"

All the other doctors looked at him with a slight grin on their faces, he sighed, not able to stay mad at the boy for whatever reason and laughed at the irony, "Well at least we got the teeth out. And some samples of his DNA without drawing blood… well… his blood."

The others broke out in laughter with him.

Bulma on the other hand made it into Vegeta's room, quickly laying her eyes onto the bed where he sat, his little chibi arms crossed and a pout on his face. She could see his cheeks had swelled slightly because of what had happened. It just made him that much more cuter.

"Hey," she greeted from the doorway, slowly crossing to sit on his bed, "how's your mouth?"

Vegeta looked angry, though it was more like he was mortified, "They told you?" He hadn't wanted her to know about him biting her father. The last thing he needed was a long lecture again about aggressive behavior being a 'no-no'. How old did she think he was? _Five_?

"It's not hard to figure out when people are pulling teeth out of a bite mark and your mouth is the only one with that many sharp teeth. Kami, Vegeta, how many came out? Seven?"

"Eight," Vegeta corrected, keeping his mouth as closed as possible. He hadn't been expecting them to stay lodged in his arm. He was trying to _avoid_ getting his teeth pulled.

Bulma fought back the giggle at the pout he had on. Sometimes she wondered how old he really was, since sometimes he acted like an angst-y teen and other times like a wide eyed child. She gently touched his face, letting her cool palm lay upon his swollen mouth.

"That better?" She asked when she noticed him leaning into her hand, a look of bliss on his face hidden well in his usual guarded expression.

"Hmph," Vegeta snorted. He had learned enough of their language to talk, but he was still learning how to communicate. He still preferred to talk in his more guttural language.

She gently moved her hand down to the collar round his neck. It didn't shock her as long as she didn't pull hard. "So how are we going to rid you of this."

"You don't," Vegeta sighed, "It nearly killed me."

Kami, since when had he ever been civil? He could remember a time when people use to shake in fear of him, his name, even his small form. He was Prince Vegeta of the Saiyans! And now he was reduced to a frail, weak body, a girl, her family, and all those prodding doctors. He almost wished he had died or remained in Frieza's care. Anything had to be better than the whims of a lavender-blue haired girl! He couldn't summon his ki, he couldn't even get out of the bed without falling over and passing out. He didn't like feeling frail. He hated this feeling of uselessness.

"Sorry," Bulma said, pulling her hands back.

This poor kid. Someone really had it out for him, but he was safe now. She was going to make sure of it. He would be safe from any harm now.

Slowly she sat on the bed, earning a heavy tense from Vegeta who watch her quietly from his spot in bed. There was an IV in his arm and he was on a heart monitor as well as several other monitors. He wasn't allowed to lose his temper less he upset himself and cause more harm to himself, so he was hooked up to make sure his blood pressure stayed low and if it went too high… night, night Vegeta.

He had done it several times by now, but Bulma would have too. He had just a short of temper as she did, but it was almost sad how little he was compared to her. It just made her feel more childish.

"So, will your teeth grow back?" Bulma asked, looking at him curiously.

"Yes…" Vegeta grumbled, before shifting enough in his bed to move away from her, "Now go away."

"Ah! Come on Vegeta," She pleaded with him, poking him teasingly in the back, "I am just curious. You are an alien after all!"

His tail slithered out of the sheets and wrapped around her wrists, pulling her hand away from where she had been poking him, "I am not an _alien_."

"Sure you are," Bulma giggled.

Vegeta turned and rolled his eyes at her, "To me, I am a Saiyan. I have always been a Saiyan and I always will be a Saiyan, powerful or not. I do not consider myself an alien, but I do consider _you_ an alien."

Bulma blinked at how philosophical his words were, but shrugged it off. He had proven to be smart when he had started to pick up their language by watching the discovery channel and reading. Lots and lots of reading. When he wasn't sleeping, that was usually the one thing he did, though he use to watch a lot of TV, but that was because he was learning. She was tempted to get him a laptop, but he wasn't too fond of machines, that much he made clear.

"So what do other aliens call each other then?"

"You would be a Chikyuu-jin, there are other ones like Sirea-jin, Ice-jin, and Saiya-jin. Those are a few of the well known, but there are more."

"So what would Frieza be?" Bulma asked innocently.

If he still had control of his ki, the room would have suddenly risen a couple degrees, but this ki dampener or whatever it was sucked him dry of it, giving only enough to live on. He hated how weak it made him.

"I will not speak of him." Vegeta told her, his voice laced in hatred, "Frieza is a monster and I will one day kill him. That is all you need to know Chikyuu-jin."

Bulma noticed how his tail retreated roughly and how he distanced himself from her in the bed. She looked over at him with a sad look, wondering what Frieza had allowed to the small boy that made him so hateful. Sighing, she decided that she needed to make it up to him because if she didn't placate his anger now, he would stew in it for hours. That much had been apparent the first few weeks of him living here.

Vegeta had hoped her to leave. He could hear and feel her getting off the bed, but instead of leaving, the ever high frequency of the monitors had been turned off and the sound of his blankets being ripped from his grasps could be heard.

"I think you need some time out of this room," Bulma told him, "Fresh air will do you good instead of this stagnant stuff."

She unhooked his IV tube, but kept the needle in and before he could tell her off, she had plucked him up into her hold and began to walk out of the room with him on her hip.

"Are you crazy!" Vegeta bellowed, a vein throbbing in his forehead, "Put me down you stupid girl and leave me alone!"

They passed the medical room that Dr. Briefs was in and he stuck his head out of the door. The noise that Vegeta was making had aroused his curiosity.

"Bulma, dear, what are you doing?" he asked, in shock of her carrying the little chibi in her arms like she would any other child his size.

"He needs some fresh air, so I'm taking him to the outside garden," Bulma told him, her face morphing into a glare, "And don't you dare tell me that it wouldn't do him good. He's been in that room for more than two months. It is time he goes outside."

"But sweetheart, his immunity is very low right now and-"

"Sunlight does us good, papa. Nothing can replace what the sun can give us. Just let me take him outside for a bit."

Vegeta was still yelling indignantly about being picked up like a little child, but his comments fell on deaf ears. Dr. Briefs sighed as he nodded to his daughter.

"Alright, dear. Take him out for a while, but only the outside garden. We should keep him away from the air pollution and you know I have a filter around the garden to keep it clean."

Vegeta paused a moment in his ranting, gaping at how the sire of the family gave into the whims of this little girl, almost _afraid_ of her. He was jotted out of his stupor by her rubbing his back gently.

"Just be good a little longer Vegeta," She told him, thinking he had finally decided to behave, "You'll love outside."

He wanted to tell her that she was wrong. He wanted to greatly refute her sentence and get her angry enough to just drop him and leave him where he landed, but he couldn't even remember being outside. It had been a fog. His room had no windows and no way to look outside, but he preferred his room secure like that. It made him feel safe with only one entrance.

He held his tongue, cursing his curiosity about what 'outside' looked like. He had yet been on a planet where it wasn't already rotting from the inside out and was mercifully cleansed from this universe by his hands. Nothing was as beautiful as Vegeta-sei, with its two suns, its red skies and the blue moon and slivery midnight blue nights filled with stars.

He might have been young the last time he had seen Vegeta-sei, but he had photographic memory that served him well. He sometimes still thought he could smell the _Illisriia_ tree that blossomed the silvery purple blossoms that smelled divine to a Saiyan's senses.

Out several more white halls and Bulma carried him right through an interestingly designed kitchen. The smell of their next meal heavy in the room as well as something sweet.

"Hi mom," Bulma greeted, watching her mother pull cookies out of the oven.

Her mother smiled, and when she realized that Vegeta was in her arms and resting his head on her shoulder grudgingly as he stared out at the last hall they had just come through. One of his hands holding on to the other shoulder and the other hand on her arm. His tail lying limp and swinging with gravity.

"Hello dear, is this little Vegeta?" Bunny asked with a happy little squeal.

She hadn't seen him since they brought him here. Bulma was constantly with him, but she couldn't look at him before without bursting into tears for him. He was looking better though and that made her all the more excited.

Vegeta whipped his head around to stare at this blonde woman. She looked so happy with that huge smile on her face and he half wondered if this whole family was crazy.

"Yep," Bulma said with a smile, "He probably is not going to greet you just yet, but he can understand you. Poppa said I can take him outside for some fresh air."

Her mother smiled again and nodded, "It'll do him good to go outside. Now wait just a second and I'll give you some cookies to enjoy while you're out there."

Within seconds a bag of cookies were given to Bulma and her mother giving her a peck on the cheek.

"You and Vegeta-chan have fun," she told her before giving Vegeta a quick peck and turning back to her cooking. Vegeta fussing over the spot she had kissed like she had contaminated him with cooties.

"Chill out," Bulma told him, before adjusting his weight in her arms, "She's just being friendly."

"Ick."

Bulma rolled her eyes and finally reached for the kitchen's back door, opening it wide and heading out without a moment's hesitation. She could feel Vegeta tense as the wind breezed past them, but she paid no mind, heading to the spot that was her favorite place in the whole garden.

Vegeta was looking about with wonder. The sun was shining down and the sky was bright, clear, and blue. As he continued to take in the senses around him, he felt almost home. This place was so similar to Vegeta-sei it almost hurt. The trees were large and some of them seemed years old while others seemed to be saplings still waiting to get big. The flowers smelled sweet and there had to be a brook around here because he could hear it babbling in the distance. Birds crooned and made their songs, but what made him pause was the sweet smell that he almost always dreamed about.

Turning his body slightly so he was sitting upright in her grasps instead of lamely resting his weight on her, he saw a old tree that was currently in bloom. And the blossoms were a soft purple. Almost like his favored _Illisriia_trees.

"This is a Lilac tree, Vegeta," Bulma told him as she kept walking towards it, "It is my favorite tree in this whole garden. So we are going to sit under it for a while, okay?"

He didn't grumble or complain, he just let her set him down as he wordlessly took in the tree. It wasn't until she poked him with one of those things her mother had given her did he turn his attention to her.

"Here," She offered, taking a bit of her own, "My mom gave us cookies."

"Cookies?" Vegeta repeated as he stared at the flat circular object.

"Yeah, their a type of sweet. A special snack or dessert." Bulma explained, offering it to him yet again.

He took it tentatively and sniffed it. It smelled good, so he took a small bite. Then another. Then another bite bigger than the last and another and another. Soon he was looking at Bulma for another cookie, his tail twitching back and forth like a cat's would when satisfied. She smiled as she gave him another one, watching him eat with gusto.

"Hey, slow down, this is something to be enjoyed, not inhaled," she teased him, holding a cookie out of his reach after he practically swallowed the last on whole.

The scowl on his face told her he wasn't amused at her using his current handicap against him. His tail twitch to and fro in frustration as he tried to grab another cookie.

"Dinner, I can understand," Bulma said as she took a bite of hers gingerly, "But this is a sweet. Take your time eating it."

She finally handed him one. Vegeta gave her one not very amused glare as he slowly put it in his mouth and bit off a piece, chewing it again as slow as possible before taking another bite.

"See? And now the supply lasts longer." Bulma smiled, messing her hand into his upward locks.

She laughed as he growled at her, ducking out of from under her hand and using his tail to push her hand away. A cookie in his mouth as he used his hands to scoot himself further away.

"Alright, alright," Bulma was still giggling, "I'll keep my hands to myself."

And to make up for it, she offered him another cookie.

Perhaps this planet wasn't so bad, Vegeta decided as he slowly filled his tummy- but yet to satisfy it- with the warm, gooey treats. It would be a safe haven till his strength returned to him and he could be on his own again.

His spirits dimmed as his mind whispered the little words that had him constantly worrying over his plans of revenge. He would stay here until he recovered his health and powers…

…If that was still possible at all…

Drowsy, he didn't notice his eyes getting heavy or how comfortable the temperature was under the shade of the lilac tree. Bulma had turned to offer him another cookie just to see that he was asleep with his last cookie still being held in his hand. She was careful as she smiled at the adorableness that was little Vegeta and quietly ate her cookies while Vegeta napped in the garden.

* * *

Heaving a heavy sigh, the lavender blue haired girl continued her search. How was it that a little boy, still recovering from malnutrition, starvation, being beaten within an inch of his life, was up and about when he should still be resting?

Her father didn't seem too worried over Vegeta's sudden disappearance, but then again the man had wrestled with the boy on many different occasions (trying to get him to do things Vegeta obviously didn't want to do) and knew that Vegeta was stronger than he looked. Bulma, unfortunately and fortunately, had never seen him trying to get the boy to lie still for shots or an examination to see how well he was healing or even the time with the teeth. Vegeta would fight tooth and nail and it usually expended all of Dr. Briefs energy and half of the energy of all his younger associates. And though the boy was slowly taking to the idea of living there and getting his shots, exams, and medicine, he still didn't like them. Dr. Briefs was still on Vegeta's list even if it was for his own good.

No. No, he never worried about the boy wandering about, if anything, it was good for him to stretch his legs and expend all that energy that had been building. Vegeta knew not to leave the property. He was a smart boy, smarter than he was given credit for at times by Bulma. Dr. Briefs even had a little theory going that Vegeta was older than he looked, though he wouldn't tell Bulma that. Her finding out Vegeta wasn't a child might devastate her and perhaps destroy the only one friendship the boy seemed to allow.

"Vegeta!" Bulma yelled as she kept walking, trying to find the kid in the huge building, "Come on Vegeta! This isn't funny!"

She opened another door that lead to yet another common room to find it empty. Getting angry, she slammed the door and stomped angrily as she began to really yell.

"VEGETA!" She yelled, a vein throbbing in her forehead, "I _know_ you can here me! Get your monkey tailed butt over here!"

"_What_ do you _want_?" Vegeta's voice growled from a door way.

Bulma stopped to gaze at him before her looks became upset and Vegeta could tell she was about to lecture him.

"What are you doing out of bed, mister? You shouldn't be _standing_ let alone walking around getting into Kami knows what!" She lectured him, waving a finger as she approached him, glaring hard as she stood over him.

Vegeta rolled his eye at her, one still being bandaged. He swatted at her finger almost looking offensive at her lecture, treating him as nothing more as a little boy.

"Calm down Chikyuu-jin," he said, "I was _merely_ looking for more reading material." He paused, crossing his arms as he fixed her a glare, "And who are _you_ to tell me what I should or should not be doing? Are you my mother suddenly? My keeper? I don't think you are, so shut up and leave me alone."

Bulma's mouth dropped as she stared at him, surprise evident on her face before it slowly morphed into one of anger, "Who am I? You ask? I am Bulma Briefs, you little Saiyan and I am in charge of you! I am bigger than you and you are still recovering!" And just to make it final, she picked him up, like she would one of her Papa's more bigger cats, and began to carry him back.

"Put me down! Darn it!" Vegeta struggled with her, trying to get her to drop him or something. Gosh darn it! He would have bitten her but he was just growing in those new teeth and really didn't want to see if anymore would come out, "Girl, you better put me down or else!"

"Or else what?" Bulma fumed, before noticing something, "Geez Vegeta, you are covered in dirt! Where were you?"

"Put me down,_ put me down_,**_ put me down_**," He continued to yowl, not at all appreciating her ability to hold him. Kami, he hated being the size of a human toddler.

"No!" Bulma yelled, hefting him up and changing her course, "You're filthy, now you have to get cleaned up before getting back in bed."

Bulma dragged him to the bathroom, careful of his fists and legs as he flung them around aimlessly while yowling at her to put him down. She finally dropped him on the bathroom rug, only to snatch him up again when he tried to bolt.

"Oh no, mister, you are taking a _bath_." She told him, using one arm to hold him like an everyday teddy bear as she started to ready his bath.

"I am not taking a stupid bath," he argued as he squirmed, it was no good. He was still too weak to even pull himself out of her grip. His limps were throbbing by now as was his ribs. Perhaps he had pushed it too far, "I'm fine."

"No you're not," Bulma argued, using one arm to mix the water as to keep it the same temperature, "You are dirty Vegeta and I have no clue where it came from. It might get into your wounds and _then_ those would get infected. I'm not taking that chance."

She quickly reached for a shower hose, attaching it to the facet mouth and tightened it till water sprayed gently out of the nozzle.

"There you go," She said, finally lightening her tone, "A nice warm bath. Don't take too long or you'll risk opening wounds."

She set him down again, making sure to grab him if he tried to bolt again, but he remained in his spot. She smiled as she went for the door knob and paused to look at him one last time.

"Make sure to scrub behind the ears too," Bulma told him bossily before shutting the door to give him privacy.

After fifteen minutes of hearing nothing, not even a drop of water being moved, Bulma knocked on the door.

"Hey, kid, are you alive?"

"That's a stupid question, moron." His temper still high from all her manhandling of him, no doubt he was stewing in his anger the whole fifteen minutes.

Bulma wasn't about to take crap from him though, "Alright then, are you done bathing?"

"I'm not doing it." His reply was rebellious sounding.

Bulma's temper fumed as well. The little brat. He was just doing this because she wanted him to take a bath. She gritted her teeth for a moment before thinking of something, suddenly her temper evaporating. A mischievous smile on her lips. He was just a little kid, after all. It would be like all those times she and her parents had a family osen when she was little.

"Alright then," she said in a sing-song voice, opening the door and pulling out her pony tail, "Then I guess we just don't do it then."

"Of course not," Vegeta sniffed, his chibi arms crossed as his tail slashed behind him, "I'm not doing anything I don't want to do."

Bulma just shrugged, closing the door and locking them in before she slowly began to take off her shoes, then her stockings (she had just gotten back from college when her search began), her jacket, then her-

"What are you doing?" Vegeta yelled as she was about to go for her skirt.

"Me?" She asked, continuing on. Vegeta spun around and stared at the bathroom wall, his face as red as a strawberry, "I'm going to take a bath."

"Then… then… then… why am I- Wait till I get out at least!" Vegeta's little chibi face looked absolutely mortified.

He darted for the door only to once again be swept up, "Oh no, you are taking a bath _with_ me."

"What! No! Let me down!" Vegeta struggled in her grasps, his eyes clenched shut as his tail wrapped around his waist tightly, squeezing the breath out of him in his panic.

If he had been stronger, if had not the ki dampener on him, he might have won, but currently with his worn condition, Bulma eventually won the little scuttle and both were in the bath, her with a towel wrapped around herself as well as Vegeta, and Vegeta in her lap, looking down as she washed his hair, him completely horrified at the scene before him.

"Chill out 'Geta, you're acting like this is torture," Bulma giggled as she thoroughly scrubbed his tangles of hair.

How long had it been since he last washed this mess? The water was currently drained of the tub so none of the dirt lingered as she cleaned them. The tub easily fitting the two of them comfortably. Spraying his hair for at least the third time, it still came out that filthy color of old blood, grim, and dirt.

"Geeze, when's the last time you bathed?" Bulma asked, going again for the shampoo she had left out for him.

"None of your business," Vegeta answered hotly, his face pink from embarrassment, "Do you bathe with_everyone_ whose forced to be tortured by your presences?"

"No," Bulma growled, digging her nails into his scalp and making him wince at her harsh treatment, "I am not that kind of girl, Vegeta. I wouldn't be caught dead washing with anyone my around age or higher, you dumbbell, so you can just can it."

Vegeta huffed, biting his tongue before it got him into any trouble. What she didn't know wouldn't get him into any trouble. He winced again as she added more of that cold shampoo onto his head and scrubbing it hard into his hair.

_If she thinks my hair is dirty, she would probably scream over Radditz's hair._ He mused. It was the only thought that kept him from dying of embarrassment.

After all…

…

…

…

…He was sixteen.


	3. Fading

I am so happy that you like my story! I got such a great amount of feedback in such a small time that I wanted to bask in the Christmas season and give you another chapter without too much time passing. I am hoping to finish this story within a month, like the prompt challenge asked, but I don't know if that is possible for me but I will keep on trying to. I'm pretty sure I got all the kinks worked out, but I am still writing it.

Merry Christmas by the way!

This prompt is **Gold**

This is all experimental and feedback is wonderful, tell me what you really think.

Read and enjoy.

* * *

"Is he going to be alright Daddy?" Bulma asked, holding onto the little hand.

"It's hard to say, dear," Dr. Briefs sighed, looking down at the boy that they had been keeping as a permanent house guest for more than a year now, "It comes and goes."

Blinking back the tears, she pushed her now blue hair out of her face. Her eyes leaking the tears that she tired so hard to push back. She clenched the hand in hers as she tried to be as strong as Vegeta would have been.

_"Tears are for the weak."_ He would have told her, _"I wouldn't want to be caught dead with tears in my eyes."_

But she wasn't as strong as he was. She would have given up years ago if she was him. He was so delicate at times, that was something everyone would forget often until he came down with a fever or… or…

Have a panic attack at the top of the stairs, toppling to the bottom, like he had done just yesterday.

How was it that he could walk around, acting as if everything was fine one moment, then suddenly fall to the ground writhing in pain from a memory? Sometimes he would get up even after a flashback of his abuse and brush it off as if it was just a strange dream from a nap.

"I swear, if you even dare cry for me, I am going to cut off all that stupid blue hair of yours," She heard his voice grouse grumpily.

"Vegeta!" She said, quickly making sure her eyes were dry as she looked at the little boy lying limply on the soft mattress with a breathing mask on, "You're awake!"

"Of course I am, idiot," he huffed softly, "I just had a slight fall. Nothing serious."

"Nothing serious?" Bulma asked in disbelief, before her eyes lit up in anger and her voice became angry shouts, "Vegeta! You fell down three flights of stairs and hit your head, sending you into a coma for at least 24 hours! You tell me how that is not serious?"

"Humans," Vegeta muttered, taking his hand out of hers and pushing himself up, glancing at the Dr., "How long?"

"I want you in this bed for thirty-six hours, my boy, nothing less. You might be suffering from a concussion and though your body heals on its own, I don't want anything like last time."

Last time like when they had to get him to the medical wing pronto because he was suffering from his brain swelling from the trauma.

"Yeah, yeah," Vegeta grumbled before plopping back down onto the pillow, fishing out his TV controller and turning on the TV. He quickly threw the breathing mask off as well.

Dr. Briefs could see his daughter was relieved that he was well, but he was still worried.

"Bulma, go fetch us some tea. I need a word with Vegeta."

Bulma nodded, quickly leaving the room, but lingered once she passed the door, closing it as if she had left. She wanted to know what was so hush, hush.

"It's that collar, isn't it? It's killing you."

"You figured it out," Vegeta said darkly, "Give the good doctor a pat on the back."

"Vegeta," Dr. Briefs said sadly at the boy's behavior.

"Yes," Vegeta hissed, "It's killing me. It's been killing me and it will kill me as long as it remains. I thought I was getting better…" He let out a sigh, his voice going soft, "It seems that I'm only getting worse. Without my ki unlocked… I don't think I'll make it another year."

Bulma stumbled back, eyes wide as she tried to take in all that she had heard. Her father… _her father_ and Vegeta both knew he was dying and they didn't tell her! She ran into the table behind her, knocking over the picture frame of her and Vegeta, who was as obstinate as ever about getting his picture taken, not caring when it made a loud sound and alerting the two of her eavesdropping.

She ran. She didn't care where in the huge house she was heading to, as long as nobody found her. She could hear Vegeta cursing and her father calling her back, but she didn't stop, her heart felt as if it was breaking.

He… he was her best friend. While at school there was no one to talk to, no one to trust, she had him at home to talk to and hang out with. Sure, he was just a little kid, but he was smart, mature for his age, and he acted like he was older than her at times.

True, they fought, but they didn't always. They would coincide quite well. There were days were they just sat in the same room, usually reading their own books, without talking or fighting, just being two friends who liked the other's company. Their fights were fun anyways. Only a few times did it end badly, either her or Vegeta stewing in their anger until they got over it. Sometimes they would go into the gardens and lie there for hours, bundling up if they went out at night to stare at the stars. Vegeta always secretly loved to stargaze. When in his better moods, he would map out the galaxies, planets, suns, and existing cultures.

He even taught her to speak Galactic standard and a more than a few lines of his dialect.

But… still… why didn't anyone tell her he was dying? Why did they make it out like he was recovering? Her heart felt like it was being torn to pieces as she turned another left at the hallway and finding herself clamoring down a staircase into an old study.

Why did it hurt so much? The very thought of Vegeta dying was killing her! She sat down in an old musty chair, not caring as the dust flew into the air and cried. She cried and cried and cried, not once caring what she would look like in the end because it didn't matter. By the end of the year, she would still be alive and Vegeta would be dead.

She didn't know how long she had sat in that chair, but suddenly there was a small knock on the door. It was her father, looking at her sadly. His sleeves were rolled up today and the old bite mark that Vegeta had given him a year ago was a visible white scar on his arm. She sniffled, rubbing her face with her sleeves as she turned around in the chair so she wasn't looking at him.

"Bulma, sweetie," He said tentatively, entering slowly, "I think we need to talk, my dear."

"About what? About how everyone _failed _to mention that Vegeta is dying? I mean, it's not that hard! You could have told me! I hate being in the dark. I hate not knowing if my best friend is going to be around tomorrow! I hate it!" Her voice softened as she whispered softly, "I wish there was something I could do…"

Her father's face suddenly turned from solemn, like he was going to talk about death to her, to a look of realization and jubilee.

"What if you could do something?" He asked, suddenly rummaging the bookshelf in the old study they were in.

"Like what?" Bulma asked, her voice cracking as she stared at her father in hesitation, confused at his sudden mood swing.

"This study was mine as a young boy," Her father explained, touching the spines of the books in the shelves as he looked for a specific title, "And as a boy, I loved to study mythology and legends in history, especially the stories of Demon King Piccolo, the Legend of Karin's Tower, and the Guardian of Earth. But the story that interested me the most was the legend of how the New World was formed."

He finally found the one he was looking for, pulling it out of the shelf and pulling up a seat next to his daughter who stared at the book with great interest. The book was an illustrated and quiet colorful, almost like a children's book.

"You see," Dr. Briefs went on to explaining, "During the end of the Final World War, few people had survived. They had turned into nomadic people, wandering the earth as it struggled to heal itself. Their lives were hard because of their own foolishness, but they persevered. Eventually, you see, they began to start again; however, they decided the fewer metropolises in the world, the better.

They wanted to document _why_ they had become so few. Why the earth had been left devastated, so they wrote this:

_In lands filled with greed and hate, there was one person who had the darkest desires of them all. His heart was black and he was a foul monstrous person who wanted to rule over the earth. And he did. But it was not by diplomatic wars or winning over the hearts of the people. No. He had merely wished upon a magical dragon and his dream of being king of the world came true._

_Darkness swept the land and wars broke out, trying hard to usurp his power. Long years of battle waged against those who served the evil king, who lied and stole and killed and murdered merely for the sake of fun, and those who fought for freedom from his cruel ways. By the time he was finally killed, his sons and daughters killed, and all his concubines swept from the world… It had very little to offer._

_The wars had raped it of its resources save very few essentials and left the people to search the lands. They searched and searched, looking for only seven items to fix their world the best they could. Seven magical balls that had summoned the wish-granting dragon in the first place._

_After years of searching, all seven were located, glowing in an energy unlike any other each time they were reunited with one more of their sister gems. Upon finding the last, the dragon was summoned._

_"Oh mighty Dragon of the Dragon Balls, hear our plea," Someone cried out._

_The dark sky grew black as clouds flooded the sky and a golden beam of light shot from the balls to the heavens, twisting and turning till finally appeared the dragon._

_"I am the eternal dragon, Shengron," He told them with his thunderous voice, "Say thy wish and let me return to my eternal sleep."_

_Upon hearing this they wished for the restoration of the earth, back to the days when it was pure and full of life and had much to offer, so Shengron did. His eyes glowed red for a moment as he granted the wish. He restored it to the way it had been, but not like they had thought. Dinosaurs appeared as well as the ancient creatures and modern day creatures returned to the face of the earth. Trees restored, minerals replaced, precious resources that had been stripped of their planet through years of mistreatment had returned._

_And the dragon said, "It is done."_

_With those words spoken, he vanished, his seven dragon balls flying high into the sky after turning to stones and dispersing themselves across the earth, waiting for a years time to pass before ready to grant another wish. Never again was a single wish asked of them, no body bothered to gather them. They had done enough damage and had much to make up for._

_Know this though: The dragon balls will grant any wish as long as all seven are present._"

With that, the book was closed and Dr. Briefs looked at his daughter.

"So," she sniffled, "It's just a legend. What good does a legend do us?"

Her father smiled, getting up and putting the book on the desk before fumbling around with his other desk's drawers.

"Well dear, some legends are just stories. They were made for a reason though, perhaps once based off of true facts that slowly warped into something else, or they are more than just legends, simply forgotten with time is all." He explained, opening a drawer and saying "Ah-ha!"

She tilted her head in curiosity as her father pulled out a highly decorated walnut box. He presented it to her, slowly opening the lid and revealing the velvet insides of the box that held the three star dragon ball like the ones in the picture. Her eyes widened with a gasp as she stared at it in shock.

"It's real!" She exclaimed with a start.

"Yes," her father nodded, "I came across it on accident, but I never managed to recover the rest. I thought it best to keep it safe from ill-doers who came across the same legend."

Tentatively, Bulma reached down and touched the dragon ball, feeling it thrum with energy at her touch, almost like it was alive.

"This is amazing," she whispered, never taking her eyes off the thing.

"And with all seven, they will grant you any wish," her father added with a smile.

Her eyes darted to her father's, understanding in her wide eyes as she thought of the same idea her father had been thinking. Her lips twitched into a cattish grin before latching onto her father in a hug, laughing lightly.

"We can save Vegeta! We could wish that thing right off his neck!" She cried happily.

"Yes, child, that is a very good wish," her father agreed, "Once it is off, his immunity will rise, according to him, and more than likely kill off most of the poison."

Pulling away, she grabbed the ball and kissed her father on the cheek from darting off to tell Vegeta of the plan to save him. She was so happy! Dr. Briefs chucked as he watched his daughter go, glad she could save the boy. Vegeta had reluctantly buried himself deep within the hearts of the Briefs family as much as they had dug themselves into his heart.

He fingered the scar, musing over how far they had gotten with him. Though the boy wasn't one to admit _anything_, even in the form of expressions at times, he had become gentler and more civil than the bratty teenager that had come to them. He even mumbled 'thank you's to the Mrs. when she had finished spoiling him rotten with treats and unwelcomed affection.

Now, the only real problem that the boy had was trying to tell Bulma he was seventeen and was not to be lifted and toted about like a plaything- which she did constantly to his chagrin. Until he confessed his age, Briefs knew his daughter wouldn't quit.

Sighing, he sat down in his old study chair and become lost in thought.

Meanwhile, Bulma was happily running to Vegeta's room. She almost tripped a few times over all the cats that would find their way into the house and finally made it to his room, swinging the door open happily as she watched his face turn to one of surprise over her sudden reappearance. He quickly reigned in his looks and stared at her in confusion, but Bulma didn't let him get in a word yet.

"Vegeta," Bulma cheered as she showed him the dragon ball, "Look at this! This is called a dragon ball and Papa said that whoever collects all seven of them is granted one wish!" She gasped for air to finish explaining her idea, sitting down on his bed as she did so. "I could go and find the rest and wish that the collar was gone! Then you don't have to die!"

Vegeta looked stunned. Genuinely stunned. It took him a few moments to actually _think_ of something to say. But being Vegeta, of course, he eventually found a flaw in her plan.

"Seven? How are you going to find the other six?" He questioned, looking at her skeptically.

Her face turned from one of pure ecstasy to a frustrated pout, "Do you always have to see the cup half empty? I just found a way to save you and you have to go and point out that I have no way of finding the other six!"

"It puts a huge hole in the very plan if there are not _seven_ correct?" Vegeta asked, lifting a brow in question, "It's stupid not to think about all the aspects of the plan before you start prattling it off."

"Shut up, Vegeta! Or I will find all the dragon balls and wish for a _boyfriend_ instead!" Bulma raged, her hand gripping tighter on the dragon ball, trying to refrain from throwing it at him.

"A boyfriend?" Vegeta questioned. "You don't need a stupid boyfriend! You tell me all the time how all of them turn into selfish pricks when they learn who you are and how much you're worth!"

He did not like the idea of her hanging around some weakling, _flirting_ with him and giggling like one of those girls on the television. His tail tightened around his waist at that thought of even sharing her. Bulma was too good for the likes of these pathetic humans.

"Oh, relax," Bulma rolled her eyes, her rage quelling, "I'm not going to wish for a boyfriend. I'm still going to use it on you. 'Geta, I can't imagine life without you around. You're my best friend."

She blushed for some reason at telling him this. After all, he was a child and she was sixteen now. How embarrassing was it to have a little kid as your best friend. Especially when you might have feelings for them? She wasn't exactly sure why she felt drawn to him like a moth to a flame, but it did keep her from searching for a boyfriend.

Though, she didn't want to be a cradle-robber. How bad would it look if she was seeing Vegeta? He was, what, eight years younger than she was? That was what usually kept her in line.

"Best friend?" Vegeta asked, "Well that's quite pathetic of you."

She finally bopped him in the head with the dragon ball, as lightly as she could, not feeling sorry for it when he chuckled at her actions. He picked it up and it almost thrummed to life in his hand. It made him pause and inspect it, eyebrows furrowing together.

"What is it Vegeta?" Bulma asked, noticing his curious glance.

"This… dragon ball, was it? It has a strong energy," He told her, still looking at it with a strange look, "If you could create a machine that could lock onto this energy reading-"

"I'll be able to find the other six balls!" Bulma finished for him, her spirit once again soaring at the prospect of saving Vegeta's life.

Vegeta nodded, smirking at her, "Now see what happens when you think everything through before flying off the handle?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Bulma grumbled as she swiped the dragon ball from his grasps, "I get it mister pessimistic. Shut up about it already."

"Bulma," she heard him say.

He hardly said her name. It was one of those Saiyan things that she had gotten use to. She was either 'girl', 'brat', or even 'her'; her mother was 'your crazy mother' or 'ma'am' (to her face), and her father was strictly known as the old man or Briefs. Once or twice she had heard him call her father Dr. or maybe Dr. Briefs, but never had she really heard her name from his lips. She didn't expect her heart to jump to her throat- after all, he was a little kid, he shouldn't make her heart flutter. She stopped and looked at him.

"I will be accompanying you," he told her, "You shouldn't travel alone."

She nodded dumbly at the seriousness of his gaze and tried to remember he was a little kid. He was just a kid and no matter how serious he could get at times, he was littler than she was. It was wrong to feel this way for a kid. Right?

He watched her for a moment before turning his head in a sneer and waving his hand dismissively, "That is all. Off with you, girl."

Grinding her teeth and stomping her foot she gave him one good growl of frustration before stomping off. What a brat. To think at times she _liked_ him more than she should. She didn't see how Vegeta smirked and chuckled at her obvious temper tantrum. She was so easy to get all fired up. He turned his attention back to the TV and lightly fingered his collar…

What was he going to do once it was off? Nothing would be restricting him from doing whatever he wished. He would have his ki, he would no doubt start to grow soon afterwards, and he would be all powerful against these mortal humans who paled in strength to him. He would be free to do whatever he wished… he furrowed his brows as he thought more and more…

What was he going to do?

* * *

Bulma was ready. She had made a special radar that honed in on the special energy the dragon balls gave off, had two whole things of capsules for travel, since Vegeta was quite loud about if she accidentally lost one that she would need back up. She rolled her eyes but obliged him since he had been ridiculously annoying about it. She was off of school for the summer and she had the coolest outfits!

The only problem was that Vegeta had caught a cold three days before they were to leave and now had a fever that left him drained of almost all his energy and left him congested, coughing, and his stomach traitorous. She hated to see him this way, but she couldn't wait for him to get better. She was going to have to leave while the cold medicine conked him out, but until then, she would keep him company.

"I hate it when you do this," Vegeta grumbled as he lied limply in her hold, his head resting so his chin was on her shoulder and his limps hanging loosely, dangling as she rocked him back and forth. "I am not your little plaything to be held whenever you fancy."

He might have been sick, but he sure was just as opinionated as usual. She just kept rocking him back and forth, gently rubbing his back. Her mother had put some potent smelling cream on his chest to help him breath through his nose. He had been complaining for the last hour about how it stank, but he was too tired now.

"And stop treating me like a little kid," he slurred, slowly drifting off, "I don't need you acting like a mother. Your crazy mother has already spent hours bugging me, giving me medicine I don't want, and forcing the Kami-awful tasting crap into my stomach."

"Someone's grouchy," Bulma teased, noticing how his breathing came out in hot pants. He had a temperature over a hundred and five, but his natural temp was usual 101 degrees at least.

"Shut up," he grumbled shifting a bit to get comfortable.

He often was uncomfortable when he was sick, tossing and turning for hours as his restlessness kept him up half the time and his coughing the other half. Despite how much he hated being held like this, it was the fastest way her mother or she could get him to drift off. He hated it, despised it, but couldn't fight them in his state and often was left lying limply in their arms as they tried to rock him to sleep.

Soon, his breathing slowed and Bulma could tell that the extra strength cold medicine finally was running its course. She waited a few more minutes before quietly slipping him back into his bed and lightly putting a cold compress on his head, slipping out once she knew he was taken care of.

She found her father waiting at the door with all her things, looking worriedly at her. She had never gone off by herself and though Vegeta was not too strong without his ki, he still would have been better than just her taking off. At least then, he would know that she had someone to watch over her.

"Are you sure you'll be fine, dear?" He asked, handing her a backpack and her second pack of dino-caps to put in her emergency slot that was strapped to her leg.

"I'll be fine Daddy," She told him, giving him a peck on the cheek and scratching his new stray- Scratch- on the ear. "I will be back as soon as I can. I will have my cell on me and I know I will be hearing from Vegeta as soon as he figures out I've gone out alone."

"He's going to give you an earful, my dear," her father agreed, "I am not even sure I want you going out on your own."

"Look Dad, I have to go." She told him, "Vegeta's not getting any better and this latest cold is taking a lot out of him. It took me almost two hours to get him to sleep. And no doubt he'll be up all night coughing and stuff. If I can, I will try to find someone to go with me and protect me. Kami only knows the who picked up the dragon balls."

That was what he and Vegeta worried about. But his daughter was right. Vegeta needed that thing off his neck soon. So for his sake, Dr. Briefs was letting his daughter go out and experience the world.

"Just remember not to mention that you are an heiress, my love. Your mother and I love you very much, so go off and have fun while you are at it. Maybe you'll find some more friends along the way."

"I hope I do." She waved goodbye as she hopped into her truck, ready for adventure, "Tell 'Geta I'm sorry when he wakes up."

"He'll call you, I'm sure," Her father chuckled, watching as she rolled up her window and left.

The kitty on his shoulder meowed, gaining the old Dr.'s attention. "Ah, yes, you have yet to meet Vegeta, haven't you Scratch?" He chuckled, "You'll meet him soon enough. I am almost fearful of that. Most the cats like to follow him around, you see. No doubt you too."

He turned and headed back inside, readying himself for a temper tantrum that only his daughter could probably trump in the next few hours or so.

* * *

Bulma checked her messages on her phone, somewhat surprised that Vegeta had yet to even call her. Probably not awake yet. They had used some heavy duty cold medicine. The kind that was suppose to leave a person knocked out for 12 hours at least. Looked like they finally picked a winner medication to put him on whenever he was sick.

She swiftly put her eyes back on the road. She was going through a dirt road near Mt. Paoz and she didn't know it too well. Her radar said that her second dragon ball would be somewhere around here. The first one, other than the one she had initially, was at a pawn shop. She bought it from the guy saying it looked interesting.

However, she was now far away from home, having driven for hours now, and wondered how deep into the forest she had gotten. She had only dazed off for a moment, but it was enough. Suddenly there was a little boy with a giant fish walking across the road and Bulma slammed on her breaks, too late though as she felt the contact of the hit. She stared in horror as she watched the little boy go flying and right into a tree.

_What have I done! _She freaked out,_ I just killed a little kid no bigger than Vegeta!_

She was seconds away from getting out of the car and running to see if the little boy was alright, but at that moment he sprang to life, holding the back of his head where it had made contact with the tree.

"Ow! That hurt!" He said loudly, but it didn't sound like he was dying or anything, if anything, he sounded angry.

She froze when he laid his black eyes on her and growled at her furiously, "You big monster! You can't have my fish!"

Bulma blinked. Monster? Since when did she look like a monster. She had only stared off long enough to blink, but it was enough for the boy who had taken out his pole that was strapped to his back and _flipped_ her car! She let out a frightened 'eep' as it did so and scurried out of the car when the boy approached the car again.

"Hey! Hey!" She yelped, putting her hands in the air to show that she meant no harm, "Don't attack!"

He blinked, almost surprised at her sudden appearance before his eyes went wide and it looked like he was about to panic, "Oh my gosh! Did the monster eat you!"

She blinked, before putting her hands on her hips and looking at him strangely, "What monster, kid? You mean the car?"

He had started to poke her abused car with his pole with a curious attitude before turning back to her, "What's a car?"

She refrained from rolling her eyes as she pointed to her turned over truck, "That is not a monster. It is a vehicle. A person gets in and drives it to distant places that would normally take them hours, maybe even days, to get to in a shorter amount of time. Seriously, kid, don't you know anything."

"Sure I do!" He told her smiling, "I know that I'm Goku! I know how to fish, I know how to climb trees, and I know all sorts of cool stuff!" She refrained herself from slapping her hand to her face at his sheer stupidity. Great. She had hit a country bumpkin. He peered at her, taking in her appearance, "You sure do dress funny. What's with the weird thing around your waist?"

"You mean my skirt?"

"If that's what it's called," he shrugged, putting his hands behind his head, "I've never seen my grandpa wear anything like that."

If she could have breathed fire, it would have been at that moment. "That's because I am a girl!" She shouted, her face going slightly red as she stomped her foot.

"Oh!" his eyes lit up instantly, "My grandpa told me about girls! He told me to always be polite to them."

She smiled. Maybe the boy wasn't as stupid as she thought. This 'grandpa' of his sounded like a pretty good guy if he trained the boy to be polite to girls.

"Oh," she said smiling, "He sounds pretty awesome. Do you live with him?"

Maybe he would know where the dragon ball was. It was pretty close after all.

"Oh. He's dead," the boy shrugged, "A monster squished him."

Sudden realization caught up to her, "You mean you live here all by yourself?"

He smiled, shaking his head no, "No, there are animals around here too."

So simple minded. The poor boy. Bulma looked at him sadly. He was a lot like 'Geta. No family. But Vegeta had her family now while this boy had none. She didn't like that. Her family was rich, they could take in another child that needed a home (and an education in his case).

He turned, finding his huge fish and picking it up by the fin again and began to walk away. Bulma pulled herself from her musings and tried to catch up.

"Hey, wait! Where are you going?" she asked, cutting in front of his path so he had to stop.

"Well… I want to get home before it gets dark and cook the fish." He told her, "You can come too, I guess. Just don't expect dinner or anything."

Again, she thought about the dragon ball that was around the area. He was heading in the same direction, so perhaps he knew about it? She nodded at him, "Okay kid, let me just capsulate my truck."

"Do what to the monster?" he asked, watching as she went back to the felled beast and pressed something, making a puff of smoke appear and the huge monster disappear. His eyes grew wide as he observed the phenomena, "Oh my gosh! You made it disappear! Are you magical?"

Bulma looked at him strangely, "Please tell me you know what dino-caps are."

"Are they something to eat?"

Changing subjects, she turned to a rather important one, "Hey kid, what's your name by the way."

"It's Goku!" He told her beaming as he looked her direction, "What's yours?"

"Bulma." She replied, catching up after putting the capsule away.

Her smile was replaced by a frown when he started to giggle. She put her hands on her hips and demanded to know what was so amusing about her name.

He shrugged, "It's a funny name."

"Oh? And Goku is any better?" She asked.

He just smiled up at her before pulling the fish along, adding last moment the words, "Well, its better than _Bloomers_."

After that, she didn't care how well she knew him, she chased after her like a banshee out of hell, Goku laughing all the way as the funny girl played with him all the way back to his house.

By the time they made it to his little house, she was huffing and puffing, but still able to stand after running two or so miles through forest.

"If I didn't have to chase down Vegeta all the time, that would have been harder," She told no one, but at the same time was telling Goku.

He dropped his huge fish finally, stretching as he did so, and that was when Bulma noticed it. I mean, yeah, she _should_ have noticed it a long time ago, but being around Vegeta had made her forgetful that not every little boy she met would have a tail.

"Ohmygosh," she gasped, pointing to the extra appendage, "You have a _tail_."

Goku stared at her for a moment in confusion before glancing at his tail, wiggling it and waving it about for a moment before turning his eyes back on her.

"Doesn't everybody?"

"No! They most certainly do not!" Bulma told him, stomping her foot in frustration. Seriously, how stupid was this kid? "The only people that _have_ tails are not from Earth, like the Saiyans!"

Goku looked at her with that blank look again before putting his hands behind his head and giving her a very puzzled look, "What's a Saiyan? Is _that_ a type of food?" His tail almost looked like a question mark.

She slapped her hand to her face, pulling it down slowly to view the little boy, "You know what? Forget it. Just invite me in already."

"Alright, if you say so." Goku said, turning and opening the door, "Come on in, I guess."

Bulma sighed, prepping herself to deal with the little boy for another hour or so. She didn't know how much longer she was going to stay, but she had glanced at her radar shortly before noticing his tail and she should be right on that dragon ball. Hopefully she could snag it and leave before the fish-for-brains drove her insane.

She only took one step inside, and fate forever tied her path to that of a little boy who didn't even know he was a Saiyan or what that even meant.

"Hey! Look! My grandpa is trying to tell us something!"

There laid the four star ball.


	4. In too Deep

Okay, I feel the need to straighten up some facts as to how old everyone is. Someone asked if Goku should be 13 or 14 thus, since Vegeta is five years older than him, making Vegeta 18 or 19 instead of 17. He is 17. In the canon, he was a year older than Bulma until the hyperbolic time chamber. Bulma was 16 when she searched for the DragonBalls and Goku told everyone his age a year later at the first world tournament he went to. How do I know it was a year later? Because he went off to search for the dragonballs right after the tournament. So, if he said he was 13 then, he had been 12 when Bulma picked him up.

I hope that clears it all. If not, I'm sure that if you put in DragonBall ages in the google search engine, you can find my source. The only place I think it is off on is Puar and Oolong. It said they were around 7... erm... no... Puar is going to be 15 or 16 and I always thought Oolong older since he was... oh I don't know- DRIVING Bulma and Goku everywhere! (7 year olds can't drive) So there is a few errors, but not on everyone else's accounts.

Please excuse the small rant. I hope you all had a wonderful week.

This prompt is** Green**.

This is all experimental and feedback is wonderful, tell me what you really think.

Read and enjoy.

* * *

Now, if anyone would have told her that she would one day be traveling on a motorcycle with an idiotic country bumpkin that didn't even know what a girl was _or_ that he was an alien…

She would have sic one of her parents' dinosaurs on them. Or better yet, she would have sic Vegeta on them. That boy knew how to make even a grown man cry like a little girl.

But here she was, traveling with said bumpkin. And let me tell you, she was already tired of it. First, she had to convince him the dragon ball _wasn't_ his grandfather trying to communicate with him, that it was just reacting to her dragon balls, which she showed him immediately to sway his thoughts (it was harder that it sounded since he could be stubborn). Then, once he understood that it wasn't his grandpa, she had to try to talk the ball out of his hands! To get him to even allow it, she had to take him with her!

_Oh well,_ she had thought at the time,_ at least now I have someone to protect me. After all, he did get hit by a car and carried a huge fish all by himself afterwards._

What she didn't expect was the giant pterodactyl creature that wanted to _eat_ her! Sure, Goku had saved her, but she had been so frightened when he had saved her from plummeting to the ground that she peed herself.

And all he did was laugh, not understanding anything at all.

She sighed; at least Vegeta hadn't witnessed that event and Goku waited for to chance her clothes before they continued. But now the sun was setting and it was time to set up camp. She pulled over, checking her phone for the umpteenth time that day before turning off the motorbike's engine.

"Okay, hop off," she told Goku as she began to dig for the capsule home.

"What? Are we done for today?" Goku asked, looking around the vast openness of the desert, "Shouldn't we at least find cover?"

Bulma looked at him like he was stupid, "Of course we're getting cover! I'm not about to rough it in the middle of no where!"

She pulled out the capsule she was looking for, pressing the button and throwing it, just as it hit the ground, a poof of smoke appeared as well as a bang sound and there stood the capsule home she had brought. Goku's eyes grew wide again as he ran up to inspect the place.

"Is this another monster?" He asked poking it with his 'power pole' like he had done her trunk.

Bulma rolled her eyes, capsulating her bike before walking up to the house, "No, it's not a monster. Honestly, is everything a monster if you don't know what it is?"

"No," he shook his head, "It could be food."

Slapping her hand to her head for the hundredth time that day, Bulma decided on to press on, reaching out to open the door and inviting the little kid in. He was ecstatic as he observed everything, jumping back when she switched the TV on that he was observing. She turned it off shortly afterwards to watch him explore the rooms.

"You can have this room," She said, opening a door to show a bed and some furniture, "It was suppose to be Vegeta's room, but he couldn't come."

She watched as he entered the room, hopping on the bed with pure delight, asking her questions to what certain things where and what they did. At least he could be taught, she thought with glee.

It was right then that her phone rang.

"What's that?" he asked looking around for the thing making the jingle.

"That would be my phone." She showed him, "Someone is calling me on it. It makes it so I can talk to people who are far, far away like they are right here. This might take a while, it says that it's Vegeta."

She was about to connect the call, but she paused, looking at him for a second, "You might want to cover your ears. He's going to be really loud cause he's no doubt ticked off at me."

"Why is he mad?"

"I'll tell you later, kid," Bulma told him before connecting the call. "Hello?"

_"HELLO? YOU TAKE OFF, GALIVANTING TO ONLY KAMI KNOWS WHERE ALONE AND THE BEST YOU CAN THINK OF IS HELLO?"_ She quickly pulled the earpiece away from her ear as he yelled angrily.

Goku, who had covered his ears like she had suggested, was wide eyed, "Wow, he's loud."

"I know," Bulma agreed, covering the mouthpiece so he couldn't hear that before pulling her hand off to talk. "Look, Vegeta, I am _fine_. I haven't gotten in over my head _either_."

She wasn't about to mention almost being eaten and peeing herself to the overly protective Saiyan. Sheesh, he was worse than her father at times.

_"THAT'S NOT THE POINT! YOU LEFT ME HERE!"_

"You have a fever! Of course I'm not taking you with me!" she yelled back, "Vegeta, calm down."

_"NO, I WILL NOT CALM DOWN YOU STUPID-" _his rant was cut off by his own coughing and Bulma sat there listening helplessly as he struggled to get a breath.

"See? You can't even yell at me without going into a coughing fit, Vegeta. I had to do this and I _promise_ you I will be alright." She tried to placate him.

_"How… can… you be so… sure?"_ He coughed weakly, still trying to sound angry.

"You are not going to believe this, but there was a little boy that has one of the dragon balls. He's pretty gentle, but he's really strong. And you know what the kicker is?" Bulma asked him, peering down at Goku who was just watching her talk on the telephone with rapt attention.

_"Surprise me,"_ Vegeta grumbled, finally able to breath.

"He has a tail, just like you."

_"WHAT!"_

Bulma laughed, "Yep, his name is Goku. He was living all alone in the forests of Mt. Paoz. Apparently the old man who was taking care of him was squished by a monster, so he's been living on his own. He wouldn't part with the dragon ball, so he's been traveling with me. He's nice, but kinda dumb."

"Hey! That's not very nice," Goku objected, realizing she was talking about him. "My grandpa says you shouldn't say mean things about other people. It might hurt their feelings."

"Goku, what's two plus two?"

"Um… is that a type of food or monster?"

"Point proven," Bulma said, knowing that Vegeta had heard the whole conversation.

There was silence on the other end, but she could tell he was on the other line, still angry and still surprised at the discovery. Finally after what seemed to be an eternity, he finally spoke.

_"Bulma. Whatever happens, don't let him look at the full moon."_ And with that, there was a click, indicating that he had hung up.

"Well that was weird," Bulma commented, looking at the phone.

"What's weird?"

Bulma chewed her lip, musing over what had been told to her before relaying it to Goku, "He told me not to let you look at the full moon."

Goku blinked, his tail waving about behind him as he shrugged and put his hands behind his head, not at all confused like she was, "Oh, that's cause if you look at a full moon, a monster comes out. I know, because I did once and must of fallen asleep. When I woke up, I found my grandpa squished by the monster."

Bulma paused, thinking about what had been said, before brushing it off. They hopefully would not be traveling that long, so the appearance of the full moon should make no difference. She gave him a shrug, and just as she was about to pass him, she caught a good whiff of him.

"Yuck," she paused where she stood, holding her nose to block the stench, "When is the last time you took a bath?"

"What's a bath?"

She should have seen that one coming. She stared at him blankly before pointing to the bathroom, rubbing the bridge between her nose with her other hand. "Go in there, strip, and I will be right in to help give you a bath."

It would have been embarrassing to wash him if she hadn't always forced Vegeta to take baths with her, much to his chagrin. Goku just shrugged before strolling leisurely into the bathroom.

"And put a towel around your waist when you finish taking off all your clothes!" That usually made Vegeta at least sit still, knowing that he was covered as well as she.

She went into her room, quickly taking off her clothes, grumbling about how little boys never seemed to know how to clean themselves before wrapping a towel around herself. When she came into the bathroom, Goku as in the tub, inspecting it with curiosity.

"Hey, Bulma, why are you wearing your towel like that and not the way you told me to?" Goku asked, his tail twitching behind him in wonder.

"Because I am a girl, Goku," she told him, wondering how she was suppose to explain, "Boys and girls are very different. Boys are allowed to walk around without a shirt, but girls have to wear shirts all the time. Also, boys have different privates." Oh, why oh why did she have to explain this?

"Do girls smell different?" Goku asked.

"Perhaps," Bulma shrugged, picking up a stool and sitting it in the tub and sat down on it, "Now hold still. I am going to get you wet before I start scrubbing your hair."

Goku was still curious about this whole idea of girls and boys, so Bulma, albeit embarrassed, answered his questions as she cleaned the boy up. It was like explaining the differences of snow and hail to Vegeta when it snowed the first winter he was there after he had already witnessed a hail storm. Only _that_ had been easier to explain than this.

"So girls wear panties?" Goku clarified, "And their chests get big when they're older and they always wear a top and they don't have balls. Okay, I think I figured it out."

"Good for you," Bulma huffed, pouring the bowl of water of his head as she finished cleaning him up, "Now, do you know how to give yourself a bath?"

"Yes, Bulma," he beamed at her, his tail wagging as he looked up at her, "Do you want me to help you?"

Her patience was wearing thin, but she kept her temper in check, "No, Goku. A girl who is my age has baths that are more private. When you get older, you will only be allowed to bathe with other guys, just like girls would only bathe with other girls."

"Then why did you help give me a bath?"

"Because you are just a little boy who doesn't know what a bath is! Now out! I won't be long." She snapped at him, shooing him towards the door with a growl.

Goku just grinned at her before disappearing through the door to go get his clothes back on, like Bulma had told him to do earlier. Bulma forwent the bubble bath and quickly cleaned herself up, too tired to do much else than rustle up some grub.

"Hey Bulma," there was a knock on the door, "I'm hungry! When are we going to eat?"

"Soon," Bulma said, finishing her bath and quickly donning her PJs, a simple tank top and plaid pants.

After so long of hanging around with Vegeta, she usually wore something she could wrestle in because Vegeta was a stubborn mule when it came to _everything_ including when it came to sitting in her lap for a late night movie. She loved to watch scary movies with him because no matter what, he was never scared. He would laugh at the stupid imagination of the 'pathetic' humans and usually fall asleep before the movie was even over. Bulma usually used him like a teddy bear, hugging him close as she watched the movie.

And afterwards, when she got scared, she would slip into his bed, because he could chase away her nightmares. However, he would push her out if she wasn't wearing pants. She didn't know why, but even in the dark, she could see the pink tint on his face as he scolded her for waking him up. For a little kid, he really was mature. So, she threw out all her nighties and bought tank tops, long sleeves, and pants to sleep in.

She walked out the door, ignoring the little boy's questions as she headed to the refrigerator that was stocked nicely to Vegeta's eating preference since he was the one with the large stomach. Her mother had precooked everything so Vegeta wouldn't have to worry about Bulma's bad cooking skills.

"Here you go," she told him, setting down a couple plates at the dinner table, "All you can eat."

She herself was having some salad, rice with chicken and snow peas, and some fruit for dessert. She watched as Goku sniffed the food that had been meant for Vegeta. He took the chopsticks and poked at it before grabbing some of the beef and finally taking a bite. He paused, his eyes getting bigger before he began to dig in.

"Wow! This is amazing!" He told her.

She smiled, sipping at her coffee that she had poured for herself. Yeah, this boy was a bumpkin, but the way he ate with gusto reminded her of Vegeta when he first tasted a cookie. Yet he seemed more light hearted than her weighed down Saiyan that probably had more baggage than any kid his age should.

"My momma cooked it," Bulma told him, smiling sweetly, "How about you come, after this, and live with my family. My mother loves having little boys to spoil and you'd get along great with 'Geta. He's a little temperamental, but he's a Saiyan just like you."

Goku looked at her for a moment, like he was trying to discern whether or not she was trustworthy. Was it worth leaving everything he knew for a family when he was content on living the way he always did?

"I'll think about it," he finally told her, going back to his meal, "If I don't end up living with you, I'll definitely visit! This food is really good!"

Bulma smiled. Even though this kid had gotten her knee high in trouble today, she didn't think she would be around without him. She sipped her drink, slowly eating her food as she watched the boy scarf down almost 50% more than even Vegeta would. Finally, he was content and was rubbing his stomach, happy.

"I hope I get to eat like this _everyday_!" He grinned.

"Invitation is still open," she shrugged, picking up plates and beginning to fill the sink.

"Hey Bulma?"

"Yeah Goku?" Bulma asked, beginning to clean the dishes like she did at home.

Her parents made it clear that even though they had robots to do a lot of the work, it was a matter of discipline that she clean the dishes and put them in the dish washer herself so she understood not to take things lightly. She had a few chores around the house and so did Vegeta, though no one ever caught him doing the chores, they all got done in a timely manner and no one could accuse him of cheating. His work was so well done, it was almost irritating at how big of a perfectionist he was.

"Why are you gathering all the dragon balls anyways?"

Bulma bit her lip, glancing out of the side of her eye. It sounded sincere enough. She was just so use to it just being her and her family and Vegeta that she could trust that she had never wavered from that since she turned sixteen. Last time she trusted someone else, they had betrayed her real well and that had been the last time she had tried to make a friend outside of her small family.

She knew though, that he needed to know why. Because it was his dragon ball that was assisting in her wish and that it would no doubt fly off with the others when the time came after the wish. Drying her hands, she went to her bag, pulling out a folded picture before showing it to Goku. It was of her with Vegeta, both sleeping, her mother had taken it after she had caught them outside, snoozing after their stargazing.

"That's Vegeta," she pointed to him with a smile on her face, then pointed to the collar around his neck, "This thing around his neck is killing him and we can't take it off without killing him in the process."

"Why did he put it on in the first place, then?"

"He didn't. He came to us over a year ago. He was hurt really bad and it was around his neck then. He didn't put it on, but someone very mean did. He's never really told us the whole story. However, I want to make a wish on the dragon balls to make the collar go away."

"Oh, I get it! If you wish it away, Vegeta won't die!"

She smiled at him, "Right! He'll get better and he will be around for a long, long, long, long, looooong time."

Goku laughed at her silliness, but nodded happily, "Okay! I'll help you get your wish! I mean, it would be really sad if Vegeta died, right?"

"Yeah," her smile faded at the though and she hugged the picture close to her, her eyes dimmed and she could feel the prickles of tears behind them, "He's my only friend… It would be really lonely without him… I'd miss him greatly."

Goku didn't catch the sad gleam in her eye or her expression, instead, he hopped off the chair and headed to his room, but not without saying, "Okay then, we just gather the rest of the dragon balls and wish that the collar around Vegeta's neck would disappear and no longer hurt him."

She smiled, watching him retreat before picking up her phone to call Vegeta.

* * *

He knew it was petty to sulk, but he couldn't believe she had the gall to do this to him! He tried to wiggle his way out, but it was of no use since all his ki was locked away and he had no chance without it. Sure, he was strong for his size, but being strong for the size of a toddler and being strong for the size of a full grown male were different.

"Now hold still sweetie," The blonde crooned at him while to set him back on her lap, taking the thermometer and putting it in his ear, "This usually only takes a moment if you are patient enough."

He hated the way it felt in his ear. He was sensitive about what was stuck in where and who was doing it. Sure, the blonde woman was never a threat, if anything, she was the anti-threat, but he still hated the distinct feel of shivering every time she put that infernal thing in his ear. Why couldn't she at least put it in his mouth like the girl did? At least then he didn't feel helpless like he did now.

"Are you still congested?" She asked, pulling it out and inspecting his temperature. "Because I still have more of that salve."

"I don't like it," Vegeta told her, trying to get out of that wretched stench being smothered onto his chest, "It smells bad."

"It's a little strong, but it does the job, now doesn't it?" Bunny asked touching his nose lightly with a finger as if to make a point, "How about I go get it along with the cold medicine and let's see if you can't sleep tonight? Hmmm, Vegeta-chan?"

"I don't like it," Vegeta repeated, crossing his arms and staring off, no longer wanting to be there.

"Sometimes we have to do things we don't like for the betterment of ourselves and others, Vegeta-chan," she told him, picking him up and setting him in his bed and pulling up the covers before placing a kiss on his forehead, "If we always did the things we enjoyed and liked, there would be no internal growth. You'd be the same as you were before or maybe even worse than before. Now you wait right here and I'll go get it. Maybe I'll even come back with a special treat."

Giving him one more kiss on the temple she left. Vegeta immediately began to paw at where she had kissed him with a disgusted look on his face as he managed a 'yuck'. After all this time, he was still not use to Bunny's overbearing affection. He preferred the way Dr. Briefs handled it: A pat on the back or a word of approval.

It was like a godsend, that moment where he heard the phone ring, almost jumping at it from his spot on the bed to get to the other he knew was on the line. He knew he was suppose to be mad at her, but right now he was desperate to be doing something that was not Bunny taking care of him.

"Didn't we just talk not even a four hours ago?" He kept his tone level, but he was relieved she had called.

_"Yeah…"_ He could tell she was chewing on her lip, that nasty habit she had when she was upset, _"I just needed to hear your voice."_

"Did the little whelp that you have with you do anything?" He growled. By Kami, he swore if that little Saiyan runt hurt her in any way he would-

_"No. I was just thinking about you. You mean a lot to me, a whole lot, you know that right?"_

He blinked, his eyes wide and he could feel his face heat up even more as he thought of the implications of what those words meant. Feelings. They meant she had grown attached to him, more than he had ever wanted to originally. He knew that they had gotten close, she was one of the few people he ever associated with, of course he held her close, but never had she ever vocalized it. Never.

_"I mean,"_ she stumbled over her words, _"You are my best friend and you're always there for me and you… If I lost you…"_ He could feel her tearing up and it sent panic down his stomach, _"If I lost you…."_ A sob. _"I would be beside myself in grief. I… I know you don't like talking feeling but… I just wanted to tell you… just in case."_

He tried to be snide, but the remark didn't have the poisonous effect he was looking for. If anything it sounded like gentle harshness, "In case I die?"

_"No. Just in case…"_ he heard the unheard _'just in case anything happens to me.'_ _"Just incase I forget."_ A lie.

"Alright," he relented, trying to ignore the squeezing in his chest, "Hurry back though. It's boring without you to torture. That and your mother has found it amusing to play nurse. Without you around, I have no defense against her."

She let out a breathy laugh before whispering, _"Alright Vegeta. Get better, you hear me? I'll have that collar off of you as soon as I can. Sleep well."_

"Hmph," he snorted, but relinquished a goodbye, "Take care of yourself, girl."

She hung up and he tried so hard not to feel even sicker than he was. He was getting too close to her. This finally proved it. He had become soft and what was worse was that he could find no fault in letting it happen. He was weakening in his resolve to stay alone like he had been all these years, self-out-casted by his own stubbornness.

Could he even kill anymore? Or had human morals taken over that as well? He though to himself bitterly about it. He tried to envision killing the old man or his wife or even the girl and all he got was a twisting in his gut that made him want to whimper in pain. He couldn't even think of it!

He was almost glad when Bunny came back with that disgusting cream and cold medicine. He let her put in on without a fuss, glad for the distraction and almost welcoming the feeling of her embrace when she picked him up and rocked him, trying to coax him to sleep now after taking his medicine. He believed sleep would be a great reprieve to all this ill thinking.

Because for once, he didn't want to think about what would happen when his ki was finally returned to him. Nor did he want to think of his heritage or their traditions or his duty to the Saiyans who died.

He felt so lost at this moment.

May Evangeline Vegiit give him guidance and counseling.

* * *

Dr. Briefs crept into the room after his wife and finally put Vegeta down to sleep. He quickly took the boy's pulse in hand and counted heart beats. Scratch climbed down off of her perch and purred lovingly as she curled up next to Vegeta's face.

Briefs tried not to chuckle at the strange phenomena that occurred to all the cats that got close enough to Vegeta. It was like they were suddenly overcome with this instinct to follow him like love struck beings. His scent was intoxicating to them and Dr. Briefs had had more than a chuckle about the strange occurrence.

One time he had found the boy sitting in the middle of their oldest tree, stuck because he had been trying to flee from the large legion of cats that had been following. It was only when he had become stuck did he realize that cats could climb the trees just as well as he could. He had waited hours for someone to finally find him and save him.

"'m fine," he heard the slurred words come from Vegeta's mouth as he batted at Briefs offending appendage.

"I'm just checking my boy. You were silent after Bulma called. Is she alright?" He asked, sighing mentally at the thought of trying to put Vegeta back down again now that he was up.

"She's fine. Found another Saiyan apparently. Called him Goku." He mumbled, shifting his sleeping position and pulled the covers up higher. "Just getting in too deep."

Dr. Briefs raise a brow, "Who, my boy? You or Bulma?"

"Me."

Dr. Briefs knew more about Vegeta than even Bulma. Vegeta confined in him only because he needed advice on multiple subjects that included Bulma. Like his age, his previous employer, and his former job. Briefs was nonjudgmental and very wise for acting like his wife at times, air-headish and carefree. If anything, it was a persona he put up for newcomers, but not for his family and not for Vegeta. When Vegeta had told him though, it had been more because he needed to feel like a monster or be casted out of such a warm and loving environment, shocked to the bone when he wasn't.

"Perhaps you are, but perhaps it is a good thing. No one can travel through life without a place to call home, a place to belong. Perhaps it is finally time to let go of the past, Vegeta, and accept this as your new life. I'd be more than happy to call you son and the missus thinks the world of you as does Bulma."

Vegeta didn't reply for a while, Briefs almost thought he had fallen asleep before he noticed the head shake, "It's not that simple."

"It can be if you let it," Dr. Briefs encouraged him.

He sighed when he saw the head shake. The boy couldn't let it go just yet. He clung so desperately to things of the past. He wanted so many things and tried to stay true to so many demands that had been made of him that he had yet realized what really was important and what really wasn't. He needed time and freedom to clear his head, both of which were restrained at this time.

"Just think about it, my boy, sometimes the answers come to you when you feel you've hit a dead end. Sometimes there are forks in the road of life. One route leading to one way of life and the other to a totally different lifestyle. However, we must first realize which route is the best for us before we can continue on. I think you are upon a fork in the road right now. All you have to do is choose which route to take. The one that'll lead you back to Frieza… or the one that allows you to remain free here on Earth. It's really up to you."

With that, he turned and headed out the door with a quiet goodnight and left the boy to think about what to do next. Rotten, he knew, but necessary at this point in his life.

He just hoped Vegeta chose the right path.


	5. Promise Kept, A Fate Unknown

Not a lot of feedback, except the usual 'update soon' kind of email, though _any ()_ did bring up some interesting questions. Unfortunately, this is the last chapter I have fully written out, since the next one is actually quite hard to think up. It'll be out of my comfort zone and a struggle. I found out I'm not one for too much conflict and drama in stories, so I tend to write a little mary sue. I _hate_ mary sues and it makes me want to gag at the thought of being an author of one. So I am trying to put some conflict between my two favorite characters and it is mentally killing me. It was so much easier writing a story were I kill off Trunks then make Bulma hate Vegeta... Not that she will, mind you.

Argh! Going to stop now!

This prompt is** Bow**.

This is all experimental and **_all_** feedback is wonderful. _**PLEASE**_ tell me what you really think. Ask questions. I answer those that have a penname that I can pm the answer to. Input what _you'd_ like to see, you _might_ see it in this story or a different one depending one where I think it'd best be used. (And I give you credit for the story)

Oh, and I forgot this in the last few chapters:

**DISCLAIMER_: I don't own DBZ. Not in this chapter, not in the last four, and not in the future chapters as well, less I forget to write a disclaimer again. I just don't own it. Just my own ideas that I put into it._**

Darn it... That always makes me sad.

Well, read and enjoy.

* * *

Bulma hummed happily as she played with the dragon radar. They only had one more to go! And it was so close! She giggled happily at the thought. They only had to get one more dragon ball!

"Hey Oolong," Bulma said, pointing in the proper direction, "Only a little further that way and we've got the last one!"

Oolong nodded, pressing the gas and picking up speed. He was designated driver for some reason, but he had yet to complain. Goku and Bulma had picked him up after coming to the village that he had tortured and basically saved his little piggy butt by taking him into their custody. It wasn't too bad, when Bulma wasn't having a tantrum at him, yelling 'piggy'.

That was usually his fault anyway.

"Hey Bulma," Oolong started, cruising down the road at a good pace, "I know this might sound stupid, but what wish are we gonna make? I mean something along the lines of 'all the gold in the world' sounds nice to me."

Goku and Bulma looked at him strangely.

"Why would we want that?" Goku asked, "You can't eat it or anything."

Bulma had been teaching him while they had been on this trip. He still had a hard time with men and woman, but he knew that Bulma was a girl, Oolong was a guy, and that not everything was a monster _or_ food. Gold, she had told him, was mainly used as jewelry and for money, which she also told him was something at this moment he didn't have to worry about.

"Hello!" Oolong yelled, looking back at Goku, "We'd be rich!"

Bulma rolled her eyes before shaking her head, "No Oolong, we aren't wishing for gold."

"It better not be some stupid wish for a boyfriend or something," Oolong scoffed, glancing at her warily, "It isn't, right?"

"NO! How shallow do you think I am?" She asked, glaring at him last minute to keep his mouth shut.

"Well? What is it then? I think we should all agree on it since we all worked to get it!" Oolong shouted angrily.

"It's for Bulma's friend Vegeta," Goku answered calmly before Bulma could blow up at the pig, "He has a collar around his neck that hurts him. Bulma wants to wish it off since they can't take it off any other way."

Oolong turned to look at Bulma, seeing if what Goku had said was true. Her eyes had turned somber as she stared at the scenery, watching it wiz by them. She had withdrawn into herself for the moment.

"Is that true?"

"It sends him into cardiac arrest every time we try to take the blasted thing off. It leaves him weak and vulnerable…" Bulma whispered, her eyes snapping back into reality as she shuttered, "It'll kill him within the year."

"So… the wish is to remove the collar?"

"Yes, my wish is that the collar's no longer on Vegeta." Bulma said, a smile on her lips as she thought happily of the idea that followed. "Then he can be okay. He'll be able to get up and go outside and spar and do whatever he wants!"

Oolong sighed. How could he go against that sort of wish? He couldn't. If that was what she wanted, he would allow it without putting up a fuss.

"Alright, so we save this Vegeta kid. At least tell me it isn't just some guy you have a crush on though."

"A crush? On Vegeta? He's no bigger than Goku!" Bulma laughed, "Though at times he does act like he's older than me, lecturing me on this and that, telling me that picking him up is not okay and all that. He's a sourpuss, but I wouldn't have him other way!"

* * *

Vegeta sneezed, flinching as he looked around the garden for Bunny. The last thing he needed was her to think that he was ill still. He shivered. He didn't want to be inside anymore than he had to be with that woman coddling him like that. He was ill, not an invalid. He was better than he had been when Bulma had ditched him here, but he was still recovering- though he doubted he would ever fully recover this time, not with the collar on.

He lifted his nose into the air, turning away from the book he was reading to see if he couldn't pick up a scent. Something in the air was different, even with his sinuses still not up to par, he could tell.

He let out a warning growl, knowing that most of the gardeners would leave and only Bulma, Briefs, or Bunny dared to approach him after that.

He heard a raspy chuckle as a green man came into view. He blinked, no… a Namekian. They were rare, but well heard of. Pacifist mainly, good with the healing arts and ki manipulation as well as highly telepathic. Theirs was slightly different from his own.

"I see you sniffed me out. I didn't expect you to be able to smell my presence." He said calmly as he approached Vegeta further. He leaned on his old staff as he waited to be spoken to.

"I am a Saiyan, of _course_ I can smell you Namekian," Vegeta scoffed, shutting his book and standing up, "But the question is, why are you here? Don't _Nameks_ live on _Namek_?"

"I see, you know of my kind," He nodded, "I have lived on Earth for a rather long time, little Saiyan. In fact, I am the Guardian of Earth: Kami. Please to meet you."

Vegeta cocked his head to the side as he observed the old Namekian. _He_ was Kami? The one from the books? He would have dismissed the idea if it had not made sense. After all, Namekians were said to live almost as long as Saiyans- perhaps longer.

"Alright, I'll bite," Vegeta finally said, "Why are you here? This is the only quiet time I get nowadays and you're bothering me."

Kami chuckled again, leaning on his staff as he looked at the little Vegeta, "I am here to make a proposition, Prince Vegeta the 27th of the Saiyans."

"And _why_ would _I_ listen to an old goat like you?" Vegeta scoffed, getting a twist in his stomach as he realized the man knew who he was.

"Because," Kami said with a knowing smile, "I know things that could benefit you and your health."

Vegeta stood upright, paying deep attention, "Alright. I'm listening."

* * *

Bulma was crying. Everything had turned terrible! They had been so close and now all of them were stuck in this little corner of Pilaf's castle until he made his wish- perhaps longer!

It had all gone bad the moment that the robotic armor grabbed her suitcase- that held her capsules- which was bad because her last capsule case was in there since she lost the other two (don't ask, she wasn't really proud of it). They were lucky enough that Yamcha- the desert bandit- happened to be around. He had helped them before, so she wasn't really surprised when he helped them again.

He and Paur- the shape-shifting feline- were after the dragon balls after all. She knew they were, but she kept it quiet. It wasn't hard to figure out that they had been stalking them (after all she was use to Vegeta and his pessimistic attitude that had her looking at most people with a distrustful eye). Yamcha was nice, but she had noticed that he was skittish around her, something that sorta made her feel sorry for him, but right now she was more interested in getting her wish back.

So, off all of them went to the castle in the middle of the desert and to make a ridiculously long story short, they had been caught, she had been 'tortured' (Honestly? A kiss was torture? How stupid was he?), all of them knocked unconscious, woke up and tried to escape, and after running for their lives from the giant metal pinball, they ended up trapped _again_.

And what was worse was that Emperor Pilaf was going to make his wish and she was going to lose Vegeta within the year it took for the dragon balls to regenerate.

That, she felt, was worth crying over. She couldn't tell why Yamcha was crying, she overheard him muttering something about a phobia of girls never to be cured, but she was too obsessed with crying for her coming loss.

"Don't cry Bulma," Goku tried to console her, patting her back, "We'll just try again, okay?"

"No! We can't!" Bulma cried, "They take a year to regenerate their powers! And they scatter across the earth too!"

"What!" Goku yelled, shocked at this discovery, "You mean my grandpa's ball is going to be lost?"

"I'm sorry Goku," Bulma cried, "I didn't mean to make you lose it. I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I failed! I can't believe I failed!"

Goku wasn't upset long about his only heirloom. He suddenly understood the severity of the lost wish, "It's okay Bulma! I'll get us out of here! Don't cry! We'll get your wish!"

Bulma didn't listen to him as she fell to her knees with her hands buried into her face and cried bitterly for her lost friend. How was she suppose to tell him? How was she suppose to face him? He'd brush it off, but inside she would always know that she failed her one true friend.

"Kaaaaa-meeeehh-haaaaa-meeeeehhhh," Goku chanted as he took the stance, readying the kamehameha wave. He finished the last movement, shouting the last syllable as he pointed his hands towards the wall, "Haaaaaaa!"

Bulma was pulled from her sorrow as she realized that there was a hole in the wall. Yes, it was small, but-

"That's perfect," Yamcha shouted with glee, "Puar, turn into a bat and go down there and stop him from getting his wish!"

Bulma's heart leap to her throat, there was still a chance, "You too Oolong! Please! My wish!"

Oolong was a coward. He really was. He didn't need anyone to tell him that, but at that moment of time, he understood. Bulma had worked hard for this wish. Half the time she was climbing right up there with Goku to get the dragon balls, putting herself in as much danger as the indestructible little boy. All for her friend he comes to find out.

What was he suppose to do? Loyalty like that was hard to get and though they argued a lot, he really did consider Goku and Bulma his friends. So in his book, that meant he had to do _something_.

"Right," he nodded, turning into a bat and chasing after Puar who had a jump start.

Never before had he felt such a weight on his shoulders. Someone's _life_ was on the line, not just a dumb wish for something stupid, but an actual, honest to Kami _life_. He never flew faster than he had at that moment.

The dragon had been summoned and though his very presences was intimidating, Oolong didn't stop and stutter or even stare, like Pilaf. The moment he got into range, he poofed back into a pig, landing on Pilaf, silencing him long enough to make the wish.

"I wish that Vegeta's collar would disappear without any ill effect upon him!"

Did it work that way? Did he need to be super specific or would the dragon understand him? Fear crept up his throat as he stared at the dragon waiting for the decree.

"I know of who you speak," Shengron told him, his eyes glowing red, "I know of what you are asking, pig, do not worry. Your wish has been granted."

With that, the balls shot into the air and dispersed.

"Nooooo!" Pilaf screamed as he finally pushed the pig off of him, "My wish! It wasn't for some brat! Come back!" He ran a short distance after the dragon balls before pausing and crying a moment in defeat.

Oolong suddenly felt a chill run up his spine when the small man glared at him.

"You people will _pay_ for this!"

* * *

Bulma couldn't keep the grin off of her face. Even though they had been captured _again_. Not like they stood a chance with that sort of security system with a hungry Saiyan, two humans, a cat, and a pig. Pilaf had rambled off _something_ about baking them alive in the morning when the sun came out, but for some reason, even that couldn't get her to stop smiling. She felt like a little kid who woke up on Christmas morning to find a puppy with a big red bow around his neck waiting eagerly in a basket under the tree.

"Really Bulma, please stop hugging me!" Oolong cried as he tried to break free, "You're smothering me, really!"

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" She repeated over and over as she held him tight, "Oolong! I take it back! You're no coward! You are wonderful and brave and the best pig I've ever known! When all this is over, you're more them welcomed to stay with my and my family!"

She lifted her head and smiled at Goku, "You too! You've helped me so much! My doors are always open to you two!"

She glanced at Yamcha. He was giving her a look that almost asked her about him and Puar and since she was in a great mood she added, "You two can come visit any time! Though my father would _never_ forgive me if I brought home a boy."

"Oolong and I are boys," Goku added with confusion.

"Yes, but Yamcha is a boy _my_ age." Bulma corrected, "My poppa's not too keen on letting boys my age live in the house." She turned to look at Yamcha again.

"But anytime you need something, don't hesitate to ask, after all, you helped save me after I was turned into a carrot!" She paused, letting out a small laugh, "Don't tell anyone that though or my adventure days are over."

"Okay," Yamcha nodded weakly, disappointed really that he had lost his wish, but from the way Bulma was acting, perhaps it was better this way.

"It's okay Yamcha," Puar consoled him, patting him on the back gently, "Maybe next time."

"Yeah," Yamcha muttered, sighing before returning to the problem, "Next time if we can get out of here! Look, we're doomed if we can't get out! The sun will bake us alive in here."

Bulma finally let go of Oolong, laying back to stare at the sky. It was pretty out here and it reminded her of her nights with Vegeta. They were going to have so many more too… if she got them out.

"What are you doing, Bulma?" Puar asked, approaching her finally after so many encounters to actually just _talk_ with the only other female.

"Star-gazing," Bulma shrugged, "It's beautiful out here away from the city."

"Aren't you afraid of dying?" Puar asked, lying down too to look at the stars.

"Nope." Bulma shrugged, "Cause we aren't going to die. You see, my cell phone has a tracking device and I already called my daddy. He'll get us all rescued."

"Really? Your father can do that?" The little feline asked with awe.

"Yep," Bulma shrugged staring at the moon, "The moon sure is full tonight."

The others had been listening and took a moment to look at the moon themselves, no longer afraid of their coming deaths. If Bulma was unafraid, then there was no reason to panic.

"Yeah, it sure is!" Yamcha agreed, looking over at Goku and Oolong, "Isn't it guys?"

He blinked when he noticed Goku's strange look. The boy was fixed on the moon.

"Goku?" He asked, not sure of what was going on, "Hey kid, are you alright?"

Bulma glanced at the little Saiyan boy, suddenly feeling a cold chill as she looked at his memorized eyes staring intently at the mood. His eyes were uncharacteristically red. She suddenly remembered what Vegeta had told her over the phone.

_"Bulma. Whatever happens, don't let him look at the full moon." _

And as of right now… Goku was staring at the full moon that was glowing brightly. She vaguely remembered the story Goku had told her about a giant monster squishing his grandpa…

Could Vegeta's warning and Goku story coincide?

Her eyes grew wide as she launched herself to a standing position. Too late though. Her suspicions had been right and already Goku was growing more and more animalistic and-

Oh hell…

* * *

Vegeta paused in his meal to sneak a look up at the green man talking with Briefs. To imagine the surprise on Briefs's face when _Kami_ from his books of legends was in his own house was beyond entertaining. Bunny, of course, invited him to dinner, but the man only accepted water to drink, explaining he only drank water.

Vegeta was sure the throw in a scathing remark, asking him if he was really that much of a green bean that he preformed photosynthesis. To Vegeta's chagrin, not only was he scolded by Briefs for being rude, but by _Bunny_ as well. And to add salt to the wounds, Kami laughed in great amusement.

"So, no matter how amazing it is to have a living legend in my humble home, is there a reason that you have visited us, Kami-sama?" Briefs finally asked.

"Yes," Kami nodded, pausing for a moment to look at Vegeta, "Give us another fifteen seconds and I will explain the situation that I have come to you for."

Everyone looked at Kami for a few seconds before all of them were paying rapt attention to Vegeta after he had let out a startled sound. He too was too involved at what was happening to really care. He had been fine one moment, then suddenly, the metal band that had been stuck to his throat for the last year glowed golden, burning as it seemed to become brighter before suddenly vanishing. Vegeta's heart rate suddenly became rapid. He thought that this moment was it, that he was done for, but just as fast as it had begun to increase, it leveled and became regular.

Not only that, but he could feel it in his body. The course of ki that suddenly flooded his body, more than there had ever been before and with that energy there came a sense of normalcy. Like how it had been before his torture sessions had begun but different. He felt stronger, more ki coursing through his veins as the circulation of ki slowly began to rise.

"It will take a while to reregulate, but I believe that your ki has been unlocked, Vegeta-san," Kami nodded with a grin.

Vegeta could barely believe it. That girl. That blue haired little stick of a girl did it! She had made the wish and he was _free_! He was pulled from his musings when Bunny enveloped him a hug. He had been about to push her away like always, but Kami quickly reminded him of an important factor.

_I wouldn't lay a hand on her if I were you Vegeta-san. You are out of practice and could hurt her if you shove her._ Kami mentally reminded him as to not cause a scene.

He quickly stilled his hands and waited for her happy babbling to be over. Kami was merciful to him and drew Bunny and Briefs's attention towards him.

"Now that Vegeta has control again of his ki, I think I need to address the reason I am here."

"He's here to take me away," Vegeta cut to the chase, looking at Briefs, "He can heal me more than any pathetic medicine or therapy can offer but he would need me to come with him for a while."

Dr. Briefs looked at her with a slight frown, worried obviously at the 'while' Vegeta would be absent for, "Would you know when you'd return to us, son?"

Vegeta shook his head, glancing at Kami, "It's up to him."

"Vegeta-san is not only to be healed by me, but he needs training again." Kami told the two, "He's had his ki locked away and now that it's back, its stronger than ever and he can't control it like before, despite his wishes. If he were to remain, he may end up harming you on accident."

"That doesn't tell us when he'd return though," Briefs shook his head, suddenly not so happy, "Whether or not Vegeta realizes it, he's apart of our family and we would be greatly upset if he just vanished, never to return, especially Bulma."

"I understand that," Kami sighed, "But things are not that simple. Vegeta not only needs to heal, gain control of his ki, and train, but he also needs time away to grow. I vaguely remember my time in space, but from what I have gathered at my tower, Saiyans only have one growth spurt and if I don't assist him, he may not develop right. You can understand this, I hope."

Vegeta looked at the bottom of his chair, staring at his small hands. Kami had pointed out things that he had not originally mentioned to even him. And he was right about the growth spurt that had yet to take place even though he was seventeen. If he didn't grow soon, he may never grow and that frightened him. Looking like a toddler forever was not on his list of things to do.

"But Vegeta-chan is just a child!" Bunny retorted, looking at him confused.

"I'm not, okay?" Vegeta snapped as he blushed heavily and stared angrily at his hands, "I'm seventeen! My race just grows slowly until that one growth spurt… after that…" He trailed off.

After that, he was as tall as he could get. "We're a warrior race. We have one hair length, one growth spurt, and each time we are wounded, we gain strength from it. We're different…"

"But why didn't you tell us you were that old, dear?" Bunny asked with slight shock.

"Because he was afraid of the after effect his age would create on us," Dr. Briefs explained, "I knew, Bunny dear, I thought it best to stay silent. I will explain it to you later, right now, let's get back to the subject at hand." He turned to look at Kami then to Vegeta. "Vegeta, do you want to go with Kami-sama?"

"Yes." He said, not looking up. He didn't know why, but it crushed him to say it. He didn't want to leave really. He had grown to- dare he say it- _like_ living with the Briefs. Getting uprooted again was killing him…

Or perhaps it was leaving Bulma behind that made his heart pang uncomfortably.

"Alright then," Briefs nodded, turning to Kami, "Take good care of him then, Kami-sama. I think of Vegeta like my own son and I would be most upset if I hear anything had happened to him and you may not like the outcome if I am angered."

Vegeta's head snapped up, staring in surprise at the old man that had become so fond of him. He had never known that he had felt that way. Kami didn't doubt that Dr. Briefs couldn't create something that'd hurt him, like his underlying threat had suggested.

"As if he was my own offspring," Kami nodded, standing and looking at Vegeta, "Gather what you want, we should leave soon."

"But what about Bulma-chan?" Bunny asked suddenly looking more upset then Vegeta had ever seen her, "She doesn't get to say goodbye?"

"It's best this way…" Vegeta muttered, looking away from them again.

It was almost strange that at that moment the phone rang, Dr. Briefs answering the phone after glancing at the caller.

"Bulma dear, how are you?" He listened for a moment before nodding, "Yes, it is off dear." Another pause, "He seems to really have picked up afterwards." Vegeta could almost hear her happy cheer while she rambled. However, Briefs's expression soon turned into a worried look, "You're what?"

It felt like forever till Dr. Briefs gave out a heavy sigh and an agreement, saying his goodbyes before looking at Vegeta, "Before you leave, boy, could you play rescuer? Bulma seems to have gotten herself in a tricky situation."

Vegeta gave out a groan, rolling his eyes. He should have known he couldn't just sneak off without seeing Bulma one last time, it seemed that Evangeline Vegiit thought it best for him to say his farewells for now.

"Sure. The girl couldn't have gotten that knee high in trouble yet." Vegeta relented.

"Good. I presume if I give you a GPS that's lock onto her cell phone signal you can fly there?"

"Yes," Vegeta grumbled as he nodded, hopping off the chair and gauging his new strength quickly.

It wasn't long before Briefs handed him the GPS and wished him well. Kami was taking his seat again and gave him an assuring smile.

_We'll leave after you've gone to rescue Bulma. Perhaps when she goes to bed. Would that be easier?_

Vegeta made a silent nod to the question that echoed in his head. He preferred not to get Bulma upset before he left. He didn't think he would be able to handle it if she began to cry…

He could never handle it when she cried…

"I'll be back before long," He promised heading outside and taking to the air after a year and a half of being grounded.

* * *

Bulma was screaming her lungs out. She wondered if the people who had made King Kong actually realized out _terrifying _it really was to be held in the grip of a giant monkey. She wanted to squirm and try to break free, but feared the plummet to her death.

And she did not care what Yamcha was yelling about, there was no way he'd be able to catch her.

"Goku!" She cried with tears in her eyes, "Goku, _please_, wake up! Please!"

That was her last hope. If he didn't wake up soon, she was afraid that he'd either eat her in this enraged monkey-ape state or crush her. He let out another roar, swinging the fist she was in to and fro. She cried out again in fear because this time it really seemed like he was going to toss her and she'd die from the crash.

There was only one name that she thought to cry out as Goku swung her the other way.

"Vegeta!" Her eyes were clenched shut and she hoped and prayed he would show up.

Suddenly, Goku stopped swinging his fist about, though it seemed to stop abruptly. It was upon hearing another growl that she opened her eyes and stared at yet another giant monkey. This one, however, had the familiar spikes on top of his fur covered head.

"Vegeta?" She whispered shakily as the red eyes looked at her.

_Didn't I tell you not to let him look at the moon?_ The words entered her mind and calmed her.

"Vegeta," She breathed again, this time letting out the breath she had been holding.

_Yes, girl._ She could hear him say as he chortled aloud, _Do you always put yourself in danger's way? Or do you just like playing damsel in distress when I'm around?_

"Haha, very funny, you big jerk! I don't intend for crap like this to happen! Get me down from here or I'll haunt you for the rest of your life." Bulma growled, almost ready to mimic his usual baring of the teeth to prove her point.

Vegeta chortled again, no doubt finding her last statement to be likely. She would probably find a way to haunt him if she died and he knew it too.

It was a matter of seconds later that she was released from Goku's grip when Vegeta crushed his wrist that he had been holding, making Goku drop her, and being caught in Vegeta's tail with only a slight squeezing discomfort. In a matter of seconds, she was on the ground, with Puar, Oolong, and Yamcha rushing to her side.

"Bulma! Are you okay?" Yamcha asked her as he pulled her farther away from the two giant apes that now wrestled each other, the smaller only holding back the larger one. "That second ape came out of no where!"

"That's no ape," Bulma argued as she looked back and smiled, "That's Vegeta."

"You had me save the life of a huge monkey!" Oolong screamed as the were running away from the battle area.

"No, it's the moon!" Bulma told them, "Vegeta is just like Goku. They're Saiyans; aliens to our planet."

"That turn into giant monkeys!" Oolong shouted, waving his arms in the air.

"Apparently," she shrugged, letting out a shaky laugh, "Though, to be honest, Vegeta did warn me about this. He told me not to let Goku look at the moon."

"You mean, this has never happened before?" Puar asked gently, unlike the to males who were screaming their accusations.

"No, Vegeta never looks at the full moon. His room has no windows and he won't star gaze if he knows there's a full moon, which he always knows." Bulma shook her head, "I never realized what it meant till now."

Finally, the four of them stopped to watch the two giant tailed apes battle on the ruins of what had once been Pilaf's home. Goku, the larger one, roared and swung like a wild animal while Vegeta, the distinguish smaller one, took him on with the intelligence of a experienced alpha male. He batted away attacks, countering others, and even finally managed to pin Goku. Bulma let out a laugh as she noticed Goku struggle underneath Vegeta as he just sat on him, staring at the moon and stars, waiting for the sun to rise.

"How… how long do you think they'll stay that way?" Yamcha finally asked, looking at the two with terror.

"I don't know," Bulma shrugged, "Let me go as 'Geta."

She was ready to start jogging his way, but before she could get far, she felt a large hand encircle her wrist, pulling her back.

"Are you crazy?" Yamcha all but yelled, "Those are giant _monsters_ Bulma! No way are they able to understand you! You're going to get yourself killed."

Bulma glared angrily, coming close enough to stomp on his foot, getting an instant release from his grip. "Vegeta is my best friend! He won't hurt me! Who do you think saved me anyway! It sure wasn't _you_."

And again she turned to leave, only this time she was able to. Yamcha was just staring after her as she approached the monsters, wondering what kind of brainwashing she had received to believe such a idea. He narrowed his eyes. This Vegeta was a threat, just like Goku, only he was worse… Yamcha could feel it.

At that moment, Yamcha had decided. Bulma was his prize and he wasn't going to let anyone steal his prize from him. Not even a stupid little monkey boy like Vegeta.

* * *

He should have known. He let out a grunt as he made sure he was sitting securely on Goku, who struggled to break free and continue his rampage. Looking down, there was Bulma, running up to them and by know he was pretty sure she had no sense of danger.

_It's dangerous. Go back over there with your misfit friends._ He told her mentally.

She just laughed, still nearing him till she was by his tail, "No way, I am not about to waste a chance like this! Let me up!"

Knowing he wouldn't win with her, he carefully wrapped his tail around her like he had before, concentrating hard on not applying too much pressure and killing her.

_You're a pest, you know that?_ He grumbled inside her mind as he quickly dropped her on his muzzle.

"And you're a giant ape." She shot back.

_Oozaru_. He corrected._ My people call this form Oozaru. We were Oozaru before we learned to shape shift into smaller forms and it is a side of us that always will exist. Our tails remind us of our lineage and history. The moon brings out the beast into its dark light once more._

"So it's called Oozaru, huh?" Bulma asked with a smile, "Learn something new everyday…" She paused for a second before looking at Goku, "Poor Goku. You know, he told me that he looked at the moon once and a monster squished his grandpa… do you think-"

_No doubt he did it himself. That is his punishment for disobedience._

"Ah come on Vegeta, it looks like he has no control over this state. How was he suppose to know anyways?"

_It sounds like he had been warned before. He paid no heed to it, just like he did again today. He's just lucky I can control my beast side._

"So you have practice?" Bulma questioned, getting a grunt of affirmation, "Why did you never do this at home?"

_Are you joking or just being stupid?_

Right. She should have known she was walking into that one. The collar would have never grown with him, just like Goku's cloth's didn't grow with him. "Okay tough guy, then how long should this last?"

_Until the sun rises. Go. It is to be soon and we will not exactly be in a state of decency. I stripped before looking upon the moon and will no doubt have clothes to spare in my emergency capsules._

Grabbing her gently once more, he put her down as quickly as possible without crushing her. It was harder than it seemed, especially in this form. He was 10 times stronger in this state and it was not helping his current loss of control. He had to just hope that she wouldn't bruise later.

"Alright, shy guy," Bulma rolled her eyes, "I'll go give the others the 4-1-1 and you head over as soon as you and Goku are dressed. See ya later monkey boy!"

Vegeta growled at her, but returned to watching the stars. His mind was still busy with everything that was going on. He had been lucky to have caught sight of them in time to save Bulma and it had almost given him a heart attack seeing her in the hands of a untrained Oozaru.

He had practice with this form, his father and Nappa beating him into consciousness in the giant state like they had been by their fathers and teachers. It had been a long journey and now there was a boy he would no doubt have to teach one day to control his form less he try to rid himself of his tail.

However, it was not an option right now. He could barely transform without sending agony through his limbs and no doubt he would be in agony when he shape shifted back down into his regular size. His body was still weak from the poison, and though he was recovering from it, he still needed a healer like the Namek to fully recover at all…

And it could take years to do so and retrain himself to be able to even touch Bulma without hurting her gravely without a lot of thought being put into his every action. One careless mistake right now and he could kill her or shatter her bones. It was best to leave and gain control than to do anything such as that to her.

And he came back to the heart of his struggle. He knew that his connection with her had weakened him. All the time she had forced her company upon him had turned into him actually wishing for her company instead. His time with her mother made him use to kind treatment and luxuries he never received before. Her father made him feel secure and taken care of, something that had been lost the day Vegeta-sei met its untimely end against the meteorites…

They made him feel like he was apart of a family again. They had lit a flame within his soul and made him burn again with a desire that was still foreign to him. And now he was leaving them and this family he had become apart of…

As he continued to ponder, he began to wonder how he was going to go about this next day.

And how he _was_ going to tell her…

_If_ he told her at all…

He sighed. He was really getting soft.

He watched as the sun began to rise, feeling almost welcoming to the burn that took place in his bones as he shrunk back to his small size. It took his mind off of his troubled thoughts, if only for a bit.

He sighed as he glanced down at Goku, who was dead asleep after his first transformation. Great. He was going to have the dress the little idiot. Maybe he should chop off his tail as punishment.

Nah. Let to boy keep it.


	6. Go Goodbye to You

I had wonderful feedback and it made me so excited to write this next chapter. Its a bit short, but there wasn't much I could add to it to make it much more than there is. I set it up for another time skip- which there will be. I know, hard to believe that there's going to be a time skip, but nobody did much other than train, even Yamcha when away to train for a while before the first tournament (though that isn't where the time skip begins at all). Trust me on this. This is a journey that is all about Vegeta and how he grows up, not really about Bulma- who developed beautifully in the cannon all by herself (though the Canon Bulma is different than this Bulma, neh?)

I should stop blabbing and just give you this chapter. It was heart-wrenching to write too. Tell me if it sounds plausible and if not, send me some tips to make it sound better. I will try to adhere to all tips that are given to me.

This prompt is** Wrapping**. (I used the theme as to cover up or hide something)

This is all experimental and **_all_** feedback is wonderful. _**PLEASE**_ tell me what you really think. Ask questions. I answer those that have a penname that I can pm the answer to. Input what _you'd_ like to see, you _might_ see it in this story or a different one depending one where I think it'd best be used. (And I give you credit for the story)

Read and enjoy.

* * *

Vegeta growled lowly as he flew next to the car. He was in a foul mood after dealing with that idiot Saiyan brat that flew on the other side of the car on a golden _cloud_ no less. Bulma was lucky that he had his own set of capsules on him just in case he ever was suddenly stranded out in the middle of no where.

And yet she still teased him that he was too paranoid even though it had come in handy. He had yet exchanged any words with either the teenaged boy or the pig, but he came across his usual problem with the cat, though she was kind enough to restrain herself. However, she kept throwing him the same glances that the other cats did.

"Chill out Vegeta," Bulma yelled from the passenger's seat as the idiot boy drove, looking ready to have an aneurism if Bulma as much as touched him. "You look like someone tied your tail in a knot."

"You'd know that look, now wouldn't you?" Vegeta hissed.

"Yeah, I would," She laughed, despite the angry glare she was receiving. "Really, what's got you all flustered?"

She had noticed him acting distant since he came back with Goku, both dressed in Vegeta's clothes. The only thing she didn't realize was that Vegeta was struggling with how to say goodbye to her. He realized he couldn't leave for Kami's just yet because he didn't know the way and he was a little worried that she'd get herself in hot water if he didn't make sure she got back home. She was a trouble magnet and he knew it.

"Nothing," he snapped at her, giving her the look that meant to end the conversation.

Bulma rolled her eyes. He hated talking around people he didn't know. He didn't trust anyone outside his small circle. If it wasn't her, her mother, or her father, it was the one finger salute for them.

"Hey, kid, she's just worried about you, no need to be a little brat to her about it," Yamcha told him, giving him a stern look as he tried to defend the girl.

Vegeta almost laughed at the idea that this guy thought he was just a little kid that could be told off. He wasn't a little kid and he wasn't someone who could be brushed off so easily.

"I'm sorry," Vegeta said snidely, "When did this business pertain to _you_? Keep your nose out of where it doesn't belong, moron."

And with that, he picked up his speed and headed home, sure that Bulma would be safe the remainder of the trip now that they were only a few blocks from home. Yamcha's angry glare followed after him. So he could fly and turn into a giant monkey, big deal, he was a real jerk for being such a little kid.

"Ignore him," Bulma brushed it off lightly, "He's timid around people he doesn't know. Plus, he got no sleep last night so he's bound to be grumpy."

"He blows you off like that and you can still say that?" Yamcha asked in disbelief, "He was being a jerk."

He backed off the subject when Bulma's glare landed on him, "He's been through a lot. Don't talk about something you know nothing about."

Yamcha mentally kicked himself for touching a subject that could possibly end his chances with her. Immediately, he feigned remorse and apologized, which she eagerly accepted.

"Hey Bulma," Goku finally spoke up, "Are we almost there yet? I'm hungry and also wanna head out soon for Master Roshi's island."

She had talked him into visiting for a meal so he knew where she lived. She didn't know what trouble a Saiyan could cause in a city and she wasn't about to find out.

"Yep, just a few more minutes Goku and we'll be there. Vegeta'll probably prepare momma for you coming. Just hold on a little bit longer."

"Okay!" The boy beamed, instantly happy to wait if it was only a few minutes more.

True to her word, they pulled up to a building, but it wasn't like any of them had expected at all. At the gate was three people waiting for them to pull in and Yamcha instantly recognized Vegeta who was trying to ignore the black cat that was nuzzling happily against his cheek.

"Momma! Papa!" Bulma waved, hopping out of the car as it slowed, "I did it!"

"Welcome home dear," her father greeted her with a huge grin and hug, "It's been lonely without you here. Vegeta's been a bit of a sour puss too."

"Was not," Vegeta grumbled but didn't dare argue further with Breifs.

"Oh!" Bulma said, after hugging her cheery mother, "I want to introduce you to my new friends." She turned around, gesturing at the stunned people in the car, "That's Yamcha, Puar, and Oolong. He was the one who made the wish that saved Vegeta!"

Vegeta finally gave him notice, nodding his thanks before turning about and heading inside. He had done his part. He needed to prepare for tonight. Luckily, even Bunny agreed to let him break the news his own way, promising to at least mention that he was going instead of just taking off. Kami was lurking about somewhere, waiting for nightfall so he and the boy could leave.

"Huh," Bulma said as she suddenly looked about, "Where's Goku?"

Vegeta could hear the surprised yelp from Bunny as Goku practically popped out of the tree, asking about her food, which she happily obliged him.

"Why all of you are such wonderful friends our little Bulma has found. You must be tired. I'll find you each a room and you can retire here for the night after getting a good meal down you! Oh! I'm so happy Bulma has so many new friends." She beamed.

That was the last Vegeta heard as he retreated into the house and away from the outsiders.

* * *

Yamcha was impressed. He never would have dreamed that Bulma was a rich little heiress and it made his plans to make her his all the more sweet. Not only would he have all the riches and luxuries in the world if she was his, but also have the fame and fortune as well. She was already offering to help him pay for an apartment till he graduated from high school- though he was disappointed she was already in college working on her masters. But that wouldn't keep him from his already growing plans.

He gave out a low chuckle as his plans grew in his head. Sure, he was a little timid around her still, but it wasn't like before. He could be around her now without fainting or running away. Also, if he played up his shyness around girls, she might want to help him overcome the whole problem. He hadn't known her long, but he knew she had a soft spot for that kind of thing. He would bask in her pity and soon she'd be his.

The only problem was Vegeta. He frowned. He had seen the way the two acted around each other. He had spent the whole day watching and he could tell that Bulma had feelings for the little brat. And Vegeta? He had to be older than what he seemed. He was too keen to be a little boy like Goku- who had left shortly after lunch to seek Master Roshi. The way Vegeta talked, held himself, and _glared_ at Yamcha signified that he too had feelings for Bulma and they were far from innocent.

So, now that he had identified his problem, he needed to figure out a way to separate the two; to pull them apart. His eyebrows furrowed together as he navigated through the halls, not minding where he was heading. What would pull them apart? What would cause Bulma to run into his arms for comfort? What?

It was almost like he had a devil as an advocate when he noticed Vegeta slipping out of a room. He remembered the colored door as the one that Bulma said she used as a inventing room- a place where she sketched out her blueprints and tinkered with her projects. What was Vegeta doing going in there? Bulma had told him that Vegeta preferred to a corner in the huge library then an small enclosed room that could clutter easily.

Vegeta looked about for a moment, sniffing the air like he was some sort of animal that could scent the air. What scared Yamcha was when his eyes quickly landed on him.

"What are you doing down here? This area is off limits to outsiders like yourself." Vegeta growled at him, marching towards him intimidating.

For being so small, Vegeta definitely didn't lack the ferocity that he aimed for. Yamcha could feel the chill running down his spine, almost like meeting his end in the form of a little child alien.

"Sorry," Yamcha said nervously, "I was trying to find my room. That's all Vegeta. I swear!"

It was true. He had originally been trying to find the room Mrs. Briefs had given him to stay in until he could get an apartment. However, when his mind began to wander about his plans for Bulma, he had become lost- which he hadn't noticed till now.

He could swear he heard Vegeta mutter 'humans are such idiots', but he wasn't sure. The small extraterrestrial gave him a warning glare before giving him a painful shove him in the other direction.

"Down the hallway, turn left after the third intercepting hall and follow it till you find your number on the door. You _do_ remember that, don't you? Or are you just that stupid." Vegeta hissed.

Despite the fact he felt like he was going to wake up with two hand shape bruises on his legs, Yamcha couldn't back down even thought the child was clearly stronger than him.

Yamcha gave out an angry snort, crossing his arms and looking down at Vegeta, "You don't have to be such a jerk about it, you little brat. Or are you just intimidated by me?"

Vegeta grabbed hold of Yamcha's arm, twisting it painfully until the other teen dropped to his knees and was now at his height.

"Listen as I explain this to you _once_ and only _once_. I don't like you. You are just another one of those idiots who try to befriend the girl. Be lucky she likes you, because after you fall out of favor with her, I am going to rid her of you without even being asked first. Got it?"

And what seemed to be a painful snap, Vegeta released his arm and headed down a different hall. He had set the fool straight, he seemed to think, but Yamcha felt his desire to win the prize even more than before. Vegeta thought he could just scare him away? Rough him up a bit? Yeah right, it wasn't going to be so simple.

Yamcha headed back to his room, finding it easily with Vegeta's instructions and waited. It was about midnight when he even moved from his bed, careful of his arm that still throbbed and headed back to the room that Vegeta had left.

The room was messy, obviously cluttered with so many tickets and inventions Bulma was playing with, but what drew his attention was what laid on the desk. And without a second thought, Yamcha picked up the envelop with the almost perfect scrawl and shamelessly opened it.

His lips curled into a smile as he read the contents.

"Good bye Vegeta," he whispered to himself, folding the letter and before putting it into his boot, "I'll be _sure_ to give Bulma your condolences. Hopefully for you, your cruel words won'"

Something out there was truly on his side.

Now… how was he going to play this up?

* * *

"Are you ready to leave?" Kami asked him as they stood under the lilac tree he had become so fond of.

He looked down, nodding as he stepped forward. At this moment, he really didn't trust himself to speak. Kami seemed to understand him, placing his hand on his head in a gentle reassuring pat.

"It is hard to leave the ones we become attached to, but sometimes we must do things to better ourselves, even if we don't like it." Kami told him with a half hearted smile.

He watched as Vegeta's eyes rose to meet his in surprise. He gave out a small chuckle before nodding, "Bunny told you that before, didn't she? Very wise advise. Now, boy, let us go, your future is waiting."

Kami took off into the sky, quickly followed by Vegeta. He kept his eyes forward when he just wanted to look back. Looking back was for the weak, he reminded himself as he kept his eyes forward and on the Namek before him. Somewhere deep within his mind, however, he wished he was weak so he could look back, but that was just a small thought that didn't last longer than a moment.

"I'll come back," he whispered to himself as he kept flying. "One day I will come back… I… I swear it."

Kami glanced back, mentally chuckling to himself about the boy that followed him. He could see great promise in such a small form. Such great promise and he was going to help foster it in the child. If he succeeded in fostering the positive elements in the teen, then Earth would have herself a defender better than he could ever be. He just hoped he could raise a Saiyan right.

* * *

The sound of something crashing was what stirred her from her dreams. Her father had always told her that if she heard something unfamiliar, she was to hide until he came to tell her that everything was safe. However, she had seen the way that Yamcha and Vegeta looked at each other and her only assumption was that one of them finally lost it.

Quickly grabbing her robe, she ran to where she had heard the sound, finding Yamcha there with some cuts and contusions sitting against the wall, holding his arm protectively. She looked everywhere, but could not find Vegeta, only a broken window from the inside out.

"What happened?" She asked as she quickly assessed Yamcha's injuries.

None of them were life threatening, but his arm looked pretty bad.

"Vegeta," he wheezed as he held his arm as close as he could to himself, "He was acting suspicious last night, so when I caught him wandering out of his room, I called him on it."

Gritting his teeth, he looked at her with the most serious expression he could, "He's gone Bulma. And he left me a message to give to you."

Bulma could feel as the tears that suddenly filled up her eyes spill over as she looked at her friend in concern. What had he meant 'He's gone'? Did he really leave after everything she had done to save him?

"Wh-what?" she croaked, "He's gone? Gone where? He's coming back, isn't he?"

Yamcha just shook his head no, not able to look at her as he continued to relay the news. "He said he had just been waiting for the moment that you wished that thing off his neck to leave. He would have left earlier, but he felt it his one last debt to make sure you were safe at home. He said he no longer has any debts to you and…" He paused, shaking his head, "He said so many terrible things Bulma. I… I can't repeat them. They were cruel words about you and wonderful your family…" He shook his head like he was struggling to try to relate them as watered down as he could, but was cut off by Bulma.

Bulma stared at him in disbelief, shaking her head as she backed away. "I… I don't believe you. Why would Vegeta leave? He- he can't leave," She began to cry, "He's my friend! Why would he just leave?"

Her grief overtook her as she began to bawl. Why would Vegeta do such a thing? After all she had done to save him? But at the same time she couldn't say that Yamcha was lying. The more she thought about it, the more she realized his distant behavior he had yesterday. Like he wasn't really interested in being near her. He wouldn't touch her, let her hold his hand, or even put him on her lap. He had been short and acted like talking to her was a waste of his time. He wouldn't even _eat_ with them and had disappeared as soon as possible. She had tried to pretend it was normal behavior, but it wasn't… Yamcha had to be telling the truth then.

"I… I have to go tell my parents," Bulma sniffled, looking at Yamcha, "We should get you to the med wing, too."

"I'm sorry Bulma," Yamcha said as he looked at her sadly, "I tried to stop him. I really did." And to add the icing to the cake, he added, "I think it best if you're parents don't know what Vegeta had said. Just let them believe that he left on friendly matters. It wouldn't be right to shatter their perception of the little guy, would it?"

"No," Bulma shook her head, he was right. If Vegeta didn't leave on such friendly matters, like Yamcha had said, it was best if her parents just thought he left after saying goodbye. It would crush them to think Vegeta as anything but what he had pretended to be. "We'll figure out something to tell them. Just please don't tell them, okay?"

"Alright," He nodded, touching her gently, pleased when he wasn't as nervous as he had thought he'd be when touching her, "I'm so sorry Bulma, but I'll be around whenever you need me okay?"

"Alright. Thanks Yamcha, you're a great friend."

"I'm glad to be of service." He said, giving her a smirk.

Together they headed to the med-wing and Bulma quickly thought up a cover story so not to break her parents' hearts. But hers… hers lay shattered on the floor where she had found Yamcha. And it was a wound, she was certain, that would not heal.

* * *

"Here we are," Kami told him as he landed on the white tiles that made up the ground on his lookout, "This is the home of the Guardian of Earth. This will be your home from now on too, Vegeta."

Vegeta landed as well, nodding silently as he looked about with dampened curiosity. He would have been more upbeat if he hadn't had to leave like he did. He hoped Bulma would take the news well enough.

"Would you like to retire for the night? We can begin your healing and training in the morning." Kami asked, looking keenly at the teen.

"Yes." Was all he said.

Kami didn't expect much more from the boy. If anything, he knew he would be down for a few weeks at most before his mood even began to pick up.

"Alright," Kami nodded, leading the way again, "During your stay with us, you'll be allowed to wander around the forest on ground level. However, you shouldn't travel too far, because for this to work, your sessions will need to be constant. By staying close by, I won't have to worry about you having an attack and not reaching you in time. Once you have finished growing, would I even begin to suggest leaving for longer periods of time. Mr. Popo will get you up in the morning for breakfast, then we will begin your first healing session, and after that Mr. Popo will help you retrain yourself."

"Mr. Popo?" Vegeta asked, a little confused as he looked around. He had thought it only to be the Namekian that lived up here.

"Mr. Popo is a spiritual servant to the Guardian of Earth. He has seen more than one Guardian of Earth pass and will no doubt linger after I am done. He is a good source of information and he also makes good company. He will be training you until you've surpassed him. His methods are uncanny, but he brings the best results."

"Right," the young Saiyan just shrugged.

It was interesting, but, right now, he just didn't care enough to ask what in the world a 'spiritual servant' was and why one would last longer than the actual Guardian. He had put the rules together pretty fast. He wasn't allowed to go too far because it would be trouble for Kami if he had to go search for him. His treatments probably would have to be around the same time each day, and he was going to have some sort of weirdo as a teacher for the next few- however long he was here for.

"This is the room." Kami said, opening the door and showing him the simple room, "It's not much but-"

"It's fine." Vegeta said, taking his pack off his back and setting in near the bed. He'd put his things away later, "Goodnight."

Kami sighed as he looked at the boy sadly, "Goodnight Vegeta."

He gently closed the door, heading off to where he would meditate and watch his human charges. Tomorrow, hopefully the boy would be in better spirits. After all, he could predict that he'd be there for at least three years. He just hoped the boy would not suffer away from Bulma. He didn't want to take him away, especially not after the visions he had seen of the two together, but the higher-ups had told him that this was best.

Hopefully the boy took any and all opportunity to make his handicap work for him instead of against. The boy was smart, he doubted there was much anyone could do to keep him from what he wanted too long. He just had to trust the vision. It showed all would be well enough.

And thus began the start of a long year.


	7. Kami's pupil

Wow, I guess everyone hates Yamcha now. Wow. I don't think I've seen the word hate so many times as I did in group of reviews. ^_^

Now, my question is, when did I ever say that the time skip was three years? It's not. I have plans and I need to orchestrate them a little earlier than three years. Also, I miscalculated the years of Dragon Ball, so I might improvise the events from here out. I was a little disappointed with myself for not paying better attention, but that's how the cookie crumbles. Thanks everyone for the tips. I will be putting up some flashbacks throughout the story and anything that's italicized within "quotes" will be flashbacks of what someone said. Or the whole memory will be italic. No thoughts or telepathic talking in this one, but I'm certain you'll know when its conversation and when its past tense/memories. If not, just tell me.

This prompt is** Elf**. (I used the theme as someone who assists (like how the elves made Santa's toys for him and assisted him with everything))

This is all experimental and **_all_** feedback is wonderful. _**PLEASE**_ tell me what you really think. Ask questions. I answer those that have a penname that I can pm the answer to. Input what _you'd_ like to see, you _might_ see it in this story or a different one depending one where I think it'd best be used. (And I give you credit for the story)

Read and enjoy.

* * *

Kami sipped slowly on his tea as he watched out in the courtyard. The two blurs that dashed from one side of the lookout to the other in a constant pace. Every so often there would be a pause where one blocked the other after a powerful strike and time seemed to slow around them before it suddenly hasten as if it was trying to make up for the seconds lost. He knew it had nothing to do with time, but it felt like that's what occurred now days as Vegeta sparred with Mr. Popo.

The black skinned man was still able to keep up with Vegeta, though he suspected the growing teen constantly kept his old friend on his toes and he improved alongside his sparring partner. Indeed, Mr. Popo was a rare find in the spiritual realm and it showed as the Saiyan tried to overcome his adversary.

"You have gotten better, Vegeta-san," Popo told him as they broke apart, putting distance between the other. "I believe this is the longest spar to date."

"I'd win more if you didn't have so many tricks up your sleeve," Vegeta accused as he wiped away a trail of blood from his face, his wrappings around his hands absorbing the blood and staining the white texture.

"I believe the two of you are done for now," Kami finally spoke, breaking up their spar before they could continue, "We'll call this one a tie. Now come here Vegeta, it's nearly eleven o'clock."

Vegeta nodded, quickly bowing at his opponent in respect before heading over to the old Namek. He was quick on his feet and though he wasn't full grown yet, he had made great progress in his growth and now no longer looked like a child. His lanky limbs and skinny frame was not yet what Kami believed would be his full height. He predicted that Vegeta would fill out a lot more before he stopped growing, which had yet happened to the awkward looking eighteen year old.

Putting his hands together and bowing, like he had done before and after his spar with Mr. Popo, he greeted Kami.

"Sensei," he said as he righted himself.

"Make yourself comfortable, boy, I don't know how long this will last. You didn't sleep the night before and it makes it harder on these sessions." Kami told him, motioning for the boy to sit on the pillow that appeared on the ground.

"I was sure I'd have him sooner," Vegeta grumbled as he sat at his sensei's feet.

"The ability to improvise is a very good skill to have. Mr. Popo knows how to get out of a corner if he is ever backed into one. You too must open your mind to a creative strategic flow that includes improvising. Remember that even the best well planned events can still go array." Kami lectured him as he laid his hand upon his head and began to send his healing ki through Vegeta's system.

Vegeta listened to what his sensei had to offer, giving him a grunt that he had heard him before beginning to meditate. It was usually all he could do when Kami had to take time to heal his system of the lingering poison. The breed was unfortunately stubborn and coupled with the amount of ailments and health problems that Vegeta had collected during the time the ki collar had been on him, it was taking longer than Vegeta had hoped.

The sessions were getting shorter, and much of it now was to help Vegeta's slowed growth rate. It use to be that it was an all day thing, but slowly he needed less and less and was able to pick up sparring and training with Mr. Popo or even with Kami. His sessions usually didn't take long, but if he tired himself out, it always affected him poorly. Not getting any sleep and sparring from after dinner yesterday to late morning never helped, but hell if he would let the black man get the one up on him. He was determined to get ahead on the win count and leave Mr. Popo in the dust, until then they were currently tied.

"How much longer till we can subtract another session from the day?" Vegeta asked after a long silence, he had been trying to meditate on the recent spar, but his mind was eager to know when he'd be free. Not that he found that he hated it here, he just longed to be elsewhere as his blood boiled to wander the lands freely.

Saiyans were usually vagabonds after all. They never use to settle in the time of Evangeline Vegitt and all the Saiyans at that time were nomadic as they wandered the jungles following the hunt as it traveled. Staying in one place too long made young Saiyan restless.

"We'll continue to do two a day for quite a while more, Vegeta, but you must admit we have come a long way from when you first arrived. After I finish, please perform your daily chores. Also, go down to the forest and check up with Bora. He has been worried about some happenings around the forest. I don't want people bothering Korin if they aren't worthy."

"Do I have to check up on Korin as well?" Vegeta asked.

He actually had overcome his extreme dislike of cats because of Korin. Korin was very respectful of him, even though he said that Vegeta's aura was as alluring to him as catnip. He had explained that some people have a guardian animal and figured that Vegeta's guardian animal was the feline species. He also chuckled as he teased Vegeta about his unspoken alliance with cats was just stronger than most to the point of absurdity at times.

Needless to say, Vegeta dumped the jar of 'sacred water' on the cat afterwards. Korin didn't talk to him for two weeks before he got over it.

"Perhaps, if there is time before your next healing session," Kami nodded, giving Vegeta a gentle smile. "I believe we're done for now."

Taking his hand off of Vegeta, the boy stood immediately, bowing respectfully to his teacher and healer before taking off to go do his regular chores. At first, when he had been told he would have to do chores, he was a little disappointed. Briefs and Bunny had been the same way, however, so he sucked it up and preformed the tasks expected of him without much complaint.

Promptly finding the shed, he pulled out the tiles he had made earlier that week, checking their quality to find them satisfactory before heading over to where he and Mr. Popo had roughed up or damaged the tile. Sometimes when they were getting carried away, the tile would crack and break. It wouldn't do to have a shabby lookout for the Guardian of the Earth if any of the Kais were to ever show up, so they kept the place looking nice incase one decided to pop in.

_"For every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction, Vegeta," Kami told him as he led him through the courtyard, "So, every action you perform has its consequences. Some are good, some are bad, but it all it what we weave by our actions in life."_

_Vegeta looked at him puzzled at what his sensei as insinuating. He was tired and Mr. Popo had just finished wiping the floor with him, much to his chagrin. Kami had bid him to follow shortly after tending to his wounds. Mr. Popo had long disappeared since then._

_"What does that have to do with where we are going?" Vegeta asked, not sure how this all related._

_"You and Mr. Popo destroyed the tile in the courtyard when you were sparring. So, as a consequence, you must replace the tiles you destroyed." Kami told him with a stern tone._

_Finally, the turned the corner and Vegeta spied Mr. Popo already working on making new tiles._

_"After every spar, you are to repair whatever you damage. That is the reaction to your actions here, Vegeta. Mr. Popo will teach you how to go along doing it and I expect it done before you go to sleep. Good evening."_

_Vegeta had looked shell shocked before surrendering to the inevitable. If he had thrown a hissy fit, no doubt he would have found himself another 'reaction' to his 'action'._

_"So, how do I do this?" Vegeta grumbled as he squatted before the half made tiles to watch._

With that memory still in mind every time he worked on the tiles, he quickly replaced the damaged tiles with great skill. Afterwards, he made quick work of his other chores, cleaning and tending the small gardens that were scattered about the maze like mansion that had some of the strangest rooms. Even Capsule didn't have as many bizarre rooms- though the large library he had found in the lookout had been a nice surprise. Soon Vegeta was able to catch up with Mr. Popo as he cooked. Because it was only Vegeta and the spiritual servant that ate, Vegeta had to help cook since he was the bigger consumer.

"You did well today." Popo commented as he handed Vegeta the batter to mix, "I think you broke concentration only thrice this time. Where does your mind wander when you get like that?"

"It's hard," Vegeta grumbled in his rough voice, no longer sounding like a child he once had sounded like, "Both of you tell me to clear my mind when I fight, to push my emotions out of the equation as to not be blinded by them, but then you tell me that its my emotions that will guide me and to think ahead and strategize."

"I can see where you become confused," Mr. Popo nodded as he finished placing an omelet on a plate, "You don't seem to understand what we are saying. There is the clearing of your mind. It is used to calm yourself and not allow your mind to be clouded by unnecessary thoughts or emotions, but that doesn't mean that you can't think at all. It is learning to work impulsively, dare I say. You can strategize all you want, but up against someone you know nothing about, there is only the strategy you make up in the heat of the fight."

"And emotions?"

"Can either strengthen you or weaken you," Popo shrugged, "If blinded by anger or rage, a fighter gets sloppy, too involved in their negative emotions to understand their mistakes. Even people to high on positive emotions can be blinded. It is finding a balance or perhaps being _fueled_ by an emotion. For the sake of her child, a woman is capable of lifting a car to unpin the child. That would be strength fueled by love and worry and fear and hope. Does that make it more clear?"

Vegeta looked at him with a befuddled look but nodded none the less. A woman on _this_ planet able to move a car simply because her emotions fueled her strength? It sounded preposterous, but Popo was not one to exaggerate. The two stayed quiet as they finished making the meal.

"Well, eat up and I'll do you a favor and wash the dishes. Perhaps you'll manage to make some time for Korin. He likes it when you visit him. That cat gets lonely down there, you know."

Vegeta nodded, throwing Mr. Popo a thank you before eating his meal with gusto. He ate elegantly and clean, making sure to make the cleaning easier by stacking the plates nicely and clearing off most of the food.

The moment he finished eating, he ran for the edge of the courtyard and without hesitation dived off. It was one of the few perks to living up so high. He was use to low air pressures and could still gather his breath in battle and this: sky diving. Kami's Lookout was so high up that no human means of flight could reach it. It could only be obtained by flight or by Korin's tower with the right tool.

The wind pounded against his frame as he freefell, yet he didn't use his ki to levitate or control his movements, he just navigated the currents to pick up speed. Just when he was about to his the climax speed, he rotated so his feet where to the ground and inserted the brake as he finally used his ki to fly. He glanced to his side and noticed the white cat in his tower shaking his head to his game.

"One day you are going to screw up and I'm gonna just laugh at you, you know that?" the small cat said as he stood on his rail.

"If I didn't know you could fly, I'd warn you about falling from this height, but it's unnecessary, just like your concern." Vegeta quipped back with a smirk.

The cat chuckled at the teen's bantering, but moved to the matter at hand, "What do you need, Vegeta? Usually, Kami doesn't make time for you to have a nice chat with the cat one floor down."

"I'm actually going to go check on Bora." Vegeta shrugged, "Thought I'd ask if you had a grocery list while I'm down there."

"Yeah, a couple fish if you don't mind." Korin said in his usual tone, "And don't get me in trouble with Kami. Do what your suppose to do before even trying to find a fish."

"Bora usually fishes with his son around this time." Vegeta shrugged, "Guess you're just a lucky cat."

"Yeah, lucky Kami hasn't tied a knot in my tail for covering for you," Korin almost hissed, "He sees everything, you know. That's how he found you, Vegeta."

"Bah," Vegeta humphed, "Sensei is a mind reader like you. He saw me in a vision and found me, all the crap he knows about me is through reading my mind."

"That doesn't matter," Korin sighed in defeat, "Look brat, just go do what you're suppose to. If I get a fish- I'll get a fish. If not, it's not like I don't have a whole urn of senzu beans."

Vegeta nodded. Though both thought it a good waste of such rare beans, he couldn't complain with the logic. Korin was their keeper and gardener, if he chose to eat them, it was his decision. It's not like the beans could cure him anyhow.

He began to descend again after nodding a goodbye to Korin. Bora was probably almost finished fishing and Vegeta no longer had an opportunity to catch that fish. Maybe Bora would give some up for his land's guardian. Korin was an old cat after all.

Vegeta smirked when he recalled his first time meeting Bora. He had been minding his own business on the rare day Kami gave to him to just enjoy himself. He had went to the river to fish in and to his surprise, he caught a little boy instead of a fish.

That's when he met Bora. Upa was his son that had gotten a little to ahead of himself and fallen into the rushing river. He had managed to catch him before he was swept further away and Bora had been greatly thankful. Bora was a large Indian man and Vegeta couldn't help but feel at home with the two. They were very like the Saiyans in nature and depended on strength and skill rather than technology.

Vegeta tried to meet up with the two as often as he could. Bora was surprisingly wise and even his strength for a human was impressive. He had been so impressed that he had taught Bora how to pull his ki into a shield around his body to bounce off any projectiles- even bullets. Bora took to it like a fish to water.

When Vegeta offered him more, he merely shook his head and told him _ "Too many desires can drive a person mad."_ He still didn't fully understand it, but he guessed that Bora meant to be content with what you have. He never took more than he needed and was pleased with his life.

It reminded Vegeta of Nappa sometimes. Nappa made sure that all the 'pups' had what they needed and sometimes more, but he himself never took more than he needed. His life was hard, but Nappa was content as long as his charges were well.

Finally descending enough to look about, he noticed something was off. Pausing in the air, he looked below at the group that circled Bora and little Upa. He didn't like it, especially when he heard the shouts coming from the tiger.

"Give us that dragon ball or else!" The tiger yelled as he pointed the gun at Bora.

"Well," Vegeta muttered to himself, "Bora was right to be concerned…"

Without further hesitation Vegeta dropped from the air, landing heavily on glider plane, crushing it with his momentum. All the men turned to look at him and he let out a feral grin and swished his tail about.

"Neko-san," Upa shouted happily from his perch on top of the teepee.

"Vegeta," Bora greeted as well, happy to see his friend, "Come from the heavens?"

"Kami sent me to see what the fuss was about. He said you were concerned about the happenings around here. Now I can see that your worries were not unfounded." His eyes landed on the dragon ball.

"Who the hell are you?" The tiger yelled, pointing his gun at Vegeta.

"Fool, don't point that at me. It's useless anyways," Vegeta scoffed as he hopped off the destroyed plane.

Despite his warnings, the men open fired between him and Bora, both stood as they emptied their rounds on them. All the men stood there agape as Bora and he shook off the bullets unharmed.

"I-im-impossible!" one of the men said before looking at their boss.

"May Evangeline Vegitt favor this hunt," Vegeta muttered, before leaping at one of the men, quickly snapping his neck before he could harm Upa or anyone else for that matter.

Bora was doing the same. These men smelled of blood, no doubt killers. Better to clear the world of them before they harmed anyone else. Soon, he leaped upon the tiger, pinning him to the ground snarling at him.

"What do you want the dragon balls for?" Vegeta yelled at him, prying into the others mind to gleam the answer that first came to mind. Images of an army appeared as well as the leader's face.

"I see," Vegeta growled before snapping the tiger's neck, ending his existence quickly.

Once the danger was gone, he looked up to see Upa running at him with a giant hug, "Neko-san!"

"Upa," Vegeta grunted as he picked up the lad and hopped off the tiger. Bora nodded at him.

"It has been a while Vegeta, how have you faired?" The large man asked.

"I have been well," Vegeta shrugged as he kicked one of the bodies so he was face up, "And yourself? You seemed to have gotten into some trouble, Bora-san."

"I suppose," Bora nodded, already picking up the men, "Excuse me as I clean up this mess. Watch Upa for me while I handle this."

"Right," Vegeta nodded, glancing at the fish, "We'll start dinner then. I doubt the boy can gut a fish that large."

Bora nodded as he pulled the dead bodies away from the camp. Having the scent of rotting corpses would never help the hunting around the area and the faster they disposed of the body, the better the chances were that the animals wouldn't flee.

"Neko-san," Upa chimed as he hopped down and headed to the large fish, "You have to see this! The fish ate the first fish my papa caught and then he tried to eat me! Papa was amazing!"

"No doubt," Vegeta chuckled as he pulled a blade from his black gi pants and opened it up, quickly gutting the fish with practiced ease.

He was already planning the fate of the fish inside the larger dead fish- there was the solution to his small problem. Now he didn't have to worry about fishing now.

As long as he returned for his healing later that night, Kami wouldn't be too upset if he spent time with Bora and Upa. Bora was always teaching him something new and it usually was what Kami was trying to explain to him as well.

* * *

_Goku sniffed the air about him. Something was different about the air, something felt more primal. Krilian was asleep in the cot next to him and Master Roshi was somewhere on the couch downstairs after he had given up his room for Launch to live in. Launch was nice, but sometimes she could be a little mean after she sneezed, though her blonde half was slowly becoming nicer._

_He decided to take a short flight outside, something that always calmed his nerves when he felt that he had stayed put for too long. With a silent call of his nimbus he took to the air and flew above the clouds to here he could see the starry sky. The moon was out, but as Bulma had made him promise, he memorized the moon's patterns and avoided the full moon all together. Vegeta had told him the same, but unlike the gentle pleas of Bulma, he had threatened him if he repeated his actions._

"There are few of our kind, brat,"_ he had grumbled, _"And only we summon the beast within by looking at the full moon."

_Goku had been upset upon learning about it, but Vegeta lifted up his spirits when he had told him. _"There was nothing that could have prevented it. You didn't know. Now you do."

_Vegeta, though he had only met him once, was nothing like him, but after listening to so many of Bulma's stories, he could sense the boy had a kind nature he tried to disguise with a gruff exterior._

_The sudden scent pulled him away from his musings and forced him to glance in the direction that the wind was blowing. A silloette floated in the center of the half moon, but the figure was one he couldn't forget. Instantly, there was a smile on his face as he directed the nimbus to approach the figure._

_What was going to be a pleasant chat soon became a game of chase of the figure shot into the night sky, biding Goku to follow as they sped past the village that he was training on and to one that was almost unoccupied. That was where he paused, waiting for the child on the Nimbus to catch up._

_"I think it is time," he told him calmly as he hovered above the island below._

_"Time for what?" Goku asked, curious to what the other in front of him was talking about._

_"Time for you to wake up." And with that, he casted something into the sky._

_

* * *

_Goku woke with a start as he looked about. He realized he was on the nimbus and was not with Vegeta at all. It had to have been many months since he had last seen him and he had yet figured out the very large question that haunted Bulma. He hadn't known at the time he had last seen Vegeta that he and Bulma had parted so painfully.

_She had seemed different. Her smile seemed a little more forced after a while and she didn't seem as up in spirits after a while of being around him. Now, he wasn't one that was most observant, but Bulma only looked sad when she was thinking about Vegeta._

_"Hey Bulma," Goku finally managed to ask her when they had been away from the others, "I didn't see Vegeta anywhere. Is he alright?"_

_Goku was concerned since the last time he had seen Vegeta was way before the tournament on a few surprise moonlight visits._

_Bulma stopped smiling altogether now as she looked at Goku, her eyes having a painful look in his eyes. Goku wasn't too stupid to know something was wrong. She just shook her head and looked forward._

_"He left. He had just up and left the next morning without saying goodbye or anything. Momma and Papa think that he said goodbye before continuing on, but he didn't." Her eyes filled with unshed tears, "He just up and left, but not without giving us the finger before disappearing forever. He even beat up Yamcha before conveying his last message to him… I… I don't really want to talk about him."_

_Goku scrunched up his face. That didn't sound right. He and Vegeta might not have talked a lot, but the other Saiyan boy never left without some sort of goodbye- even if it was just barking at him to practice before the next time they met. Not knowing what to say, Goku decided to pretend not to know. He'd ask Vegeta next time._

_"I don't think that's right, but if you say that's what happened, I'll believe you." For now anyways._

_Bulma seemed happier when she was with Vegeta though. Yamcha just made her cry a lot._

Shaking his head, he decided not to think ill of the boy who had taken the time to teach him how to control his Oozaru state. The boy who had told him to wake up.

He looked down upon the lands he was flying over on the nimbus and pulled out the radar to look for the next energy signal. His face was overtaken by the smile as he realized how close the next ball was.

"Maybe this one will be my Grandpa's!" He said to himself before directing the nimbus in the right direction.

* * *

Vegeta looked up, sniffing the air around him before opening his mouth and taking silent gulps of air. Something was different. At first he had thought it was Bora returning, but the signal was different.

Upa noticed his sudden guard and looked about too, looking for whatever had set off Neko to full alert. Suddenly Vegeta jerked his head to the sky in time to see something he had not seen for over ten months.

"Well I'll be," he chuckled as he instantly relaxed, "It's Goku."

Upa blinked as he set down his weapon and looked up as well. Bora chose at that time to come right back to the clearing, having disposed of the dead men, and he too looked up at what the other two were staring at.

The cloud paused and Vegeta could see Goku peek over. He was still the same as he had last seen the boy, but he wondered if Goku would even recognize him now that he had grown.

"Is it another enemy?" Bora asked as he came behind Vegeta, ready to guard Upa if he needed to.

Vegeta shook his head as he lifted into the sky, "No. It's a friend."

No sooner had he reached Goku did the confused expression on the boy's face turn into one of enlightenment.

"Vegeta!" Goku cried as he lunged for the other Saiyan in happy reunion. Vegeta caught him, but grunted his displeasure to the boy's overfriendliness, "I didn't recognize you for a minute. Good thing your hair is so pointy and you smell the same! I could never mistake those."

"Idiot," Vegeta scoffed, but was pleased that the child couldn't recognize him as the smallish child he had once looked like, "A Saiyan's hair doesn't grow like a humans. We have one hair length that grows with us. Once we stop growing, so does the hair. It keeps it so grooming isn't a problem."

"Whatever you say Vegeta," Goku laughed as he hugged his friend again.

"Ick," Vegeta grunted as he lowered them to the ground and pulled Goku off and promptly dropped him, "You're too clingy to be a Saiyan."

Goku just pulled himself up, still in a great mood as he rubbed the back of his head. He was use to Vegeta acting like this. Back when Vegeta had been teaching him how to control his Oozaru state, they would play a few games. One was like the game hide and seek that Krillin tried to teach him, but much more fun since if you found the target, you could grabble with them and wrestle till you pinned them. Much more sense then just _tagging_ the other person.

"Why are you in the Land of Korin anyways," Vegeta barked, trying to sound indifferent when in actuality, he was pleased to see the only other of his kind on this planet.

Goku stopped laughing and looked at him curiously, "Land of Korin? Is that where this is? I was just looking for the dragon ball nearby. I'm trying to find my grandpa's ball."

Vegeta looked at him confused before remembering the dragon ball the tiger, 'Captain Yellow', had been yelling to Bora about. A swift glance to Bora's dominant hand proved that the beast had not been off his rocker. Counting didn't take long for him to recognize that this one had four stars and, if his memory served him well (which it had yet to fail him), Goku had told him that this dragon ball had been his heirloom.

"Well it seems you need look no more," Vegeta said as he gestured at Bora's hand, "It appears as though Bora has found it."

Goku's face lit up more when his eyes landed on the dragon ball and he let out a cry of joy as he exclaimed, "My Grandpa's ball!"

Bora looked down at the small object in his hands before looking at the equally confused Upa. Both looked back up at the two Saiyans and Bora spoke what was both on his and his son's mind.

"I think you need to start with the beginning, Vegeta. What are you two talking about?"

"Take a seat," Vegeta sighed as he went back to the fish he had just finished gutting, "This'll be a while. Especially with the boy's vocabulary."

However, he was eager to hear about Bulma and how she was faring. No doubt Goku would know who Bulma took the news about his age and he was curious to know if she had a hissy fit every time she thought about it or is she was just silently plotting his demise next time she saw him. The tale would be interesting as it is, if what memories he gleamed from the yellow tiger coincided with Goku's story.

The boy probably had a whole army and his tail and yet to realize the severity just yet. It _was_ Goku after all.

"I've gotten better!" Goku argued, "At least I know that not everything's a monster or type of food anymore! And I learned my numbers _and_ letters from Master Roshi!"

Oh yes, this proved it was going to be an interesting tale.


	8. Kuroneko

Hiiii! Wow, I have been watching too much DBZ abridge. That is a great show. Lots of cursing in it and innuendoes, but for those who can look over it or don't care, its a gut buster. Mr. Popo is my favorite on the show next to Nappa and Vegeta. Its great.

Sorry I haven't updated in such a long time, I have been very busy with getting moved back into my apartment and writing the very last scene to this chapter. Remember, I suck at writing fight scenes and honestly, my story isn't really about the fighting so I tend to skim over it or skip it altogether.

This prompt is** Santa**. (I used the theme as person that wears red garbs and gives to others)

This is all experimental and **_all_** feedback is wonderful. _**PLEASE**_ tell me what you really think. Ask questions. I answer those that have a penname that I can pm the answer to. Input what _you'd_ like to see, you _might_ see it in this story or a different one depending one where I think it'd best be used. (And I give you credit for the story) Thank you all for helping me so far and I have considered a lot of what was offered, but I haven't made a total decision just yet.

Read and enjoy.

* * *

"I see," Bora nodded as he glanced at the dragon ball in his hand, "so that's why they were eager to obtain the dragon balls."

Goku nodded as he glanced at the ball, "But that's not why I'm collecting them. I just wanted to find that one. It was given to me by my grandpa before he died. It's special to me."

Vegeta's eyes too glanced at the ball, thinking back upon the three star dragon ball. It had been the one that Briefs had held onto and the one that started the journey to save his life. It would be nice to keep it as a memorabilia, so he could understand Goku's desire to do the same.

"That is a good thing," Bora nodded with a smile, looking at Goku with quiet admiration.

"What is, Daddy?" Upa asked from his spot on his father's lap.

They had all eventually sat down to dinner as Goku told his adventures to find the dragon ball. He had related most of it, but Vegeta felt like he had left out a lot about Bulma. She wasn't one to stay in the background much and would have more of a role than Goku had mentioned. He was hiding something… or perhaps he didn't want to worry Bora and Upa since they were outsiders to the matter? He didn't think that Goku had that much tact, but the boy lived to surprise him.

"As I told Vegeta a long time ago: Too many desires can drive a man mad. It is better to be content with what you have instead of always wanting something more. Men like that will never find happiness or peace. Just more things they wish to possess." Bora explained calmly to his son as well as Goku.

Vegeta blinked as he thought about what had been said. Bora was right, wanting too much left him miserable on Frieza's ship. He had wanted strength, he wanted revenge, he had wanted Frieza's head, he had wanted all that had been rightfully his. And though he never obtained those things; feeling their loss made him bitter.

Nowadays, as he trained and healed, he didn't really want anything, realized with shock. He lived content to what his life had become and though he still thought of the people he had left behind, he never had decided to leave them forever. He'd return, but as a better man. 

It was odd now that he thought of it, how his wants in life had changed. He recognized he had become more like Bora and Nappa as he spent more time on earth. His life was hard, but he was content with what he had. And what's more was that he hadn't even noticed the gradual change in character.

Frieza was the one who would never be content. He had wanted power, he wanted wealth, and even though he had it all, he wanted more. He was nothing like the Briefs who were wealthy as well. 

They were content with what they had and freely gave to others when others had needs to be met. Bulma was never interested in finding more wealth, just in having someone to understand and keep her company. Her parents were happy with things the way they were and weren't out to get more. It just happened as they continued to do the things that they loved to do.

"Neko-san," Upa's voice pulled him from his musings, "Where did you go?"

The first time Upa had asked him that, he hadn't really understood what the small child had meant, but Bora had explained it was a saying his people had. When someone was staring off, they often asked them to where their mind wandered.

"To a place of enlightenment," Vegeta muttered as he sat up from where he had laid back, "What you're father says is true, too may desires _can_ drive a man mad. It's probably best though if we keep the dragon balls away from the Red Ribbon army though. Who knows how screwed up they can make the world. It'd be just like the results of the Final World War all over again. Best to avoid the devastation altogether."

"That sounds like a good idea." Goku nodded, "I guess I'll deal with them later, but for now I'm going to relax."

With that, he plopped down into a lying position and looked to the sky. Vegeta nodded. If Goku had been traveling about saving the world unknowingly, it would be best to give him down time before grilling him about Bulma. However, there was one thing that had not been sorted out and it was best to get it done sooner than later.

"Bora, would you part with your dragon ball?"

"Yes, I have no need for it and it holds value to young Goku. I will give it to him." Bora nodded, before giving the ball to Upa to walk over to Goku. "By the way," he said, picking up the second, smaller fish, "Give this to Korin on your way up."

"Will do," Vegeta nodded, suddenly realizing the time. "Dinner was wonderful. I'll be down later if I can."

Goku perked at this, no longer lounging playfully in the sweet grass, "You're leaving? Isn't this your home though Vegeta?"

"No, I live a ways a way. Bora will take care of you though, so I'll see you soon." And with that, he grabbed the fish and took to the sky, straight up next to the tower.

Hopefully, leaving Goku alone with Bora and Upa wasn't a bad idea, but his healing session was to start soon so he had to get back up before it was time.

* * *

"Why'd he leave so quickly," Goku complained as he saw his friend disappear into the clouds, "Doesn't he want to be with us?"

"No, no, Goku," Upa shook his head rapidly, "Neko-san has to go to his healing session. It's not good for him to miss one. He has them twice a day, and if he promises to come back, he does right afterwards."

"Healing?" Goku asked, thinking back to why is sounded familiar, "Oh that's right, Vegeta was sick, but why is he still sick if the collar's gone?"

"Vegeta has not told us much, but he said he has a poison running through his veins. He gets healed in hopes of destroying the poison permanently." Bora explained.

"Neko-san means nothing personal when he goes away, he just isn't good at goodbyes." Upa shrugged, "You get use to it."

Goku nodded, that he could understand. So Vegeta had gone away to be healed more. That made a lot more sense to him but still…

"Why do you call him Neko-san? His name is Vegeta."

Bora let out a hearty laugh as he slapped his knee, "Now that is a good question. Upa is use to what the rest of the tribe calls Vegeta. He's been here for a little over a year now and has been seen by most of the tribe. They called him Kuroneko- or Neko for short- because of a myth we have about cats. It is said that Korin favored cats and gave them the gift of stealth, speed, and intelligence. 

Vegeta happened to spook a lot of the tribesmen because they said he's just disappear like he had never been there. No one could track him and not one of them could sneak up on him. They said he was as fast as the lightning strikes, silent as the night, and as crafty as Korin himself, so they began to call him Kuroneko. Everyone thought he was just a ghost until he saved Upa's life. So when I got to talk to him, I discovered his name was actually Vegeta, but the rest of the tribe just calls him Neko-san. He doesn't mind, he responds to both names."

"Oh!" Goku giggled, "That's funny though! I bet he had some fun with everybody when they tried tracking him. He's the best at hide-and-seek!"

"Indeed. He found it too compelling to tease the other tribesmen in those days, though I think he misses them now." Bora shrugged as he glanced back at the tower.

Goku looked around, finally noticing the lack of other people, "So, you said there were other people around, but I don't see them. Are they good at hiding too?"

Bora laughed again but shook his head, "No, dear child, they have followed the herd. It is my duty to protect this land, so I must remain close to Korin's tower."

"Korin's what?" Goku asked as he looked at Bora strangely.

He laughed again, a man of good nature and gestured at the large tower only a few feet away. Goku instantly looked at it curiously. Was Vegeta at the top? Is that where he went?

"That is Korin's tower." He finally said as he rose to stand by the tower, "Legend say that our guardian Korin was born right here. Our people built this tower in honor of him and as legend goes anyone who climbs to the top will receive a drink of the Sacred Water from Korin himself. Anyone who drinks of it will receive strength far beyond what they already had."

"Wow!" Goku said in awe, looking at the large tower with new interest, "Has anyone climb to the top?"

"Only one that I know of," Bora chuckled, "Though there is a legend that said someone climbed up over three hundred years ago. Though I am not too sure."

"So, who climbed up there that you knew of? Was it you?" Goku asked, glancing at the large warrior before him.

Bora chuckled again as he shook his head, "No, I tired once when I was younger, but I didn't get to far. Perhaps one day, but the one that made it to the top was Vegeta."

"Vegeta?" Goku exclaimed, "He climbed to the top! But can't he fly?"

"Yes, he can, but he said it was through the challenge that the reward was to be received." Bora said with a shrug, "He said it in such a way that it was like a inside joke. Then again, he seems to find favor with Korin."

"So… if I climb up there… I can get stronger?"

"That's the gist of it," Bora nodded. "Come, let us pour you another helping. If you are anything, you are our guest and a friend of Vegeta's."

"Any friend of Neko's is a friend of ours!" Upa chimed in with a happy grin.

"Why thank you!" Goku said happily. "The soup was very yummy! I can't wait to have more."

Soon the three of them were relaxing, enjoying the cooling of the day.

* * *

It wasn't much longer than an hour and a half that Vegeta was freefalling off the lookout again. Kami had seemed to understand his wishes to catch up with the other Saiyan and reminded him to be back by the morrow for his usual healing before getting up to go to his meditations.

As always, he paused when he reached Korin's place but the cat was no where in sight. He usually saw Vegeta coming and would always be out to greet him, whether or not he was talking to him. But there was no Korin.

Shrugging it off as the cat enjoying his fish, he continued his dive further downwards. It was a feeling he enjoyed on occasion, but never enough for him. He was usually only down on earth one or twice bi-weekly. Thrice if Kami said it was alright, but other than those rare moonlight visits to Goku, he had yet spend the night with Bora and Upa. This already proved to be interesting and if he was lucky, he'd get to learn about Bulma.

He almost wondered if he was experiencing déjà vu. Because honestly, he was pretty sure that he had come upon this earlier. Though… this time there was only one man… and he was wearing pink…

Honestly, humans had the _weirdest_ fashion sense that he'd ever seen. He wouldn't be caught _dead_ wearing pink and any idiot who fell for such a ploy should be shot and taken out of their misery.

Turning his attention once more to the fight, he stilled himself in the air as Bora charged. He wasn't worried, Bora was one of the strongest humans on the planet and would have no trouble taking care of himself. Beginning to descend again, he stopped cold as the man caught the spear and held it like Bora was nothing but a three year old pushing against a brick wall. His eyes widened as he felt the circulation of ki through this strange man. His ki manipulation was spectacular for someone from _earth_.

"Too hard for you?" he could hear the man taunt Bora, "here, let's try something different."

The pink wearing man shifted his hand so he gripped the spear with only his index and thumb, Vegeta let out a silent gasp. He could almost see what was coming next. No longer frozen, he rushed towards Bora, trying to stop what was to come only to see his friend get launched in the air with the spear hot on his trail.

Even with all Vegeta's training, the spear's momentum would be impossible to stop and it was going to hit Bora through the heart. There was nothing he could do to stop that spear, he realized with a sinking in his gut.

_"Well you're not a fish," Vegeta blinked as he looked at the upside-down waterlogged child in his tail's grasp._

_"D…D…Daddy," Upa whimpered as he coughed up the water, "Where's my daddy?"_

_Before Vegeta could even answer him a cry came from the shore, "UPA!"_

_The boy, who he still had yet to turn right-side up, squirmed as he reached for his father, "Daddy!"_

_Vegeta understood easily what had happened. The boy had fallen in. So, it was only logical what to do next. He floated over to where the large Indian man was and held out his son to him._

_"Upa!" He said again as he took his son into a bear hug, "Don't do that again, alright?"_

_"Yes Daddy," the child hiccupped._

_Vegeta was about to turn to leave when a hand rested upon his shoulder, "Thank you Neko-san."_

_"Neko-san?" Vegeta asked as he looked at him confused, "My name is Vegeta."_

_Bora smiled at him as his son was already crawling up onto his shoulder, "Well then Vegeta, thank you for saving my son. Come, please, and share our dinner. It would be an honor."_

_"Alright," Vegeta said hesitantly as he crossed his arms in front of his chest, "As long as you explain this 'Neko-san' business to me."_

_He hadn't known then but it was the beginning of a strong friendship that would last him a lifetime._

He couldn't let Bora die. He couldn't. The man had done so much for him, relaying to him so much wisdom and strength through their friendship. He had made him believe in such a bond as friendship- even more so than the Briefs had. They had taken a distrustful child and shown him how to trust and care; Bora and Upa had taken it a step higher and shown him what it meant to be a friends and to rely on others.

He couldn't let the man who had given him such life lessons parish and leave his son behind. His bonds with the warrior wouldn't allow it!

Without even hesitating he launched himself at Bora, body slamming him out of the way but by doing so putting himself in the spear's path. He could hear Bora's surprised shout and in a strange way felt like he was almost seeing things in slow motion as the pain streaked through his body. It was nothing like he had once lived through, but none the less painful. Shock ran through his system and both he and Bora fell the ground, further shoving the spear through him.

"Vegeta!" "Neko!" He could hear their screams and could make out the sounds of Bora scrambling next to him to access the damage.

"Who's this?" The other voice asked in a displeased voice, "He wasn't here a minute ago."

Vegeta couldn't keep conscious much longer and before he knew it, everything had blacked out. But before it did, he could have sworn he had seen the lights of ki like he had so many years ago, dancing around him.

* * *

_How long had he been here? How long would it last this time? Had he gone too far? Perhaps, but he didn't care. His vision blurred again, but he could see him. That monster who was so favored by his master. The pure white scales of the changeling as he waltzed right up to him and the same red beady eyes that all his people had. The black lips and feminine qualities all Ice-jin had._

_"Oh?" The pitch was high, but this creature was man nonetheless. "The monkey's still alive. How quaint. I was just about to tell Lord Frieza that I had finished breaking you, but it seems you woke up." With a overdramatic sigh and a wave of his long lizard tail, he smirked. _

_"Looks like you're going to be my most fun yet! I'll have you screaming my name in no time, lil' monkey! And you'll never cross Freiza after this!" He all but singed as he twirled on his foot to change the direction he was facing, "Now… what poison to use?"_

_"I… I'll kill you one day… Icily… I will… I swear it…" Vegeta barely managed to say as he faded in and out. "And when I do… you'll be screaming _my_ name."_

_Icily glared his way before turning back to his collection and pulling a vial out, "I just decided! Have fun in a living hell, little monkey!"_

_Vegeta struggled, but soon it was too late and the fiery poison ate through his system._

_"This is a sad memory…" A voice echoed through the plane and everything seem to pause._

_Vegeta blinked in confusion, but as soon as his eyes opened again, Icily was gone, the room was gone, but he was near Korin's tower in the familiar forest. He glanced about swiftly before his eyes landed on himself. Bora was hovering over him as Upa and Goku were running towards him as well, but they were frozen, like time had stopped._

_"Wha," Vegeta asked himself dumbfounded, surprised when he heard his voice echo in this strange plane he was in._

_"That was brave of you, you know." The voice said again, he was sure it was a female by the silkiness of her voice, but he had been wrong before like with Icily. "Giving your life for his. Noble."_

_"I can care less what it was, that human is still going to kill them. Bora is one of the strongest humans I know and if he is so easily defeated, so will the others." Vegeta huffed as he looked over his shoulder to his friend._

_Had he really died for someone else?_

_"Yes," the voice answered his questioning mind, "You did. It was unselfish of you, a drastic change from the child owned by Frieza."_

_Vegeta snapped his head in the direction of the voice, narrowing his eyes and letting out a growl as he looked for the unseen, "I am not Frieza's little pet. I refuse to bow to such a creature as he. And I did what I had to in order to survive."_

_"And not in this situation? You were not in mortal danger, yet you still sacrificed everything for him: a human."_

_"My _friend_!" Vegeta countered as he yelled, "And I'd do it again. He has a son! He has a life! He didn't need to die."_

_He was suddenly surrounded with the images of all the planets he had destroyed and held his head as he clamped his eyes shut. The images of all the men he had slaughtered in order to survive._

_"And did they? Did they need to die for the greater good?"_

_"If I hadn't, someone else would have and I'd be just another dead Saiyan for Evangeline Vegiit to collect."_

_"But does it justify your means? Would you do it again if given the chance? To kill and destroy? Like those men you killed not even a while ago?"_

_"That was different than back then! Those men were killers trying to hurt others. They got what was coming to them."_

_"So what does that mean? You kill only those who are evil?"_

_"Who am I to judge the taint of a man's heart?" Vegeta shrugged, his fury calming, "I am no better than they."_

_"There are many shades of grey in the universe. The world is not black and white." He squinted as he began to see the image of someone who was surrounded in light. "Some are so light of grey they almost seem white, while some are so dark a grey they seem black, but there is no one white or black. The taint of your soul changes with repentance."_

_"So what? I'm less evil than when I was but a child?"_

_"Yes." The image was growing stronger._

_"But I still kill." Vegeta pointed out, "I killed those men earlier today."_

_"Some deaths are unavoidable. The cost for protecting the many are the few lives that must be surrendered."_

_"So, you tell me it is wrong to kill, then you tell me its right? Quite contrary of you." Vegeta sneered, his tail puffing itself in his agitation._

_"Contrary? No. It is wrong to take another sentient being's life, however, it is close to impossible to avoid all death in this tainted universe. Taking action to secure the least amount of death is sometimes needed. Killing is wrong, but so is allowing others to continue their spree. Life is contrary, but at the same time it's clear."_

_The image was coming in clearer than before and he could begin the make out the colors. A deep red, white, black, and a milky brown. The blur slowly was making itself sharper._

_"You use to able to see so well. It's taking your eyes a while to readjust after so long of willing away the ki lights." The voice explained in a purr._

_Vegeta's eyes widened as he realized this wasn't a human voice. It was a Saiyan's. His agitation left him as he dropped his guard, staring hard at the sharpening vision before him. What she had said about death rang true to what he had learned from his mother. She hated death, but said it was unavoidable at times and the best way to handle it was as clean and swift as possible. Mercifully. So even when he killed as a child, he did it quickly, trying to live up to his mother's hopes, but it wasn't until he had come to earth did he understand her sympathy and value for others' lives._

_"Who are you," Vegeta finally asked, almost afraid to know the answer._

_"Who do you think?" The voice asked with a chuckle, "It _is_ said I come for the souls of my kin. All Saiyans are my kin in one way or another, so I came for you."_

_"E-Evangeline-sama!"_

_The image finally became clear and there she stood far more magnificent than he ever would have thought._

_She was dark compared to any Saiyan he had ever seen. But of course she had worked hard and traveled across Vegeta-sei as a nomad instead of pampered like a member or Royalty. Her skin a little less than milk chocolate. Her eyes were golden and her hair was touching the bottom of her shoulder blades. They were an odd bone white color that did not seem Saiyan in the least. All Saiyans in his time had black or brown shades of eyes and hair. However, her eyes were golden, her eyebrows the same bone white, and she wore pieces of bone as jewelry. Each bone looked like something from a different beast._

_She had that goddess like body and even though she was a Saiyan through and through, she had little muscle tone unlike the women in the ranks had, but a soft looking frame like his mother- though he knew Evangeline could no doubt snap any bulky looking female in half just like his mother. She had a half mask on her head made of feathers. The base near her eye laid in a semi circle and seemed to hold great meaning as well as the rose like hair piece that tangles into the mask._

_Her facial features were lax, not like his father, King Vegeta who always schooled in his expressions and kept it from showing anything but negative emotion. In fact, her tail was not wound about her waist as he had been trained and it waved about in the air freely. If anything, she was nothing that Vegeta thought a deity of Saiyans would be- a powerful inapproachable like his father pretended to be. She did have the sharp but womanly features that Vegeta's mother had, but if anything, the woman looked open and welcoming. Dare he say, as friendly as Goku._

_"Vegeta," She greeted with a soft smile, "I am glad you recognize me."_

_He wasted no time getting on his knee to bow to her, but she stopped him halfway through._

_"Rise. I am not into formalities such as that. It's too stingy. Though I appreciate you paying your respects."_

_"So I am truly dead," Vegeta whispered, glancing back at his where he lay with Bora hovering over him._

_"No," Evangeline shook her head, "Not yet. You wouldn't be taken out by _that_ after surviving so long."_

_"So, I'm not dead." Vegeta was confused now. "Then why are you here? If you don't mind me asking."_

_"The journey ahead of you is long, but rewarding. I merely wanted to set you in the right direction before you continued on."_

_As her eyes pierced his, flashes of Bulma invaded his thought;, images of another woman with a catty appearance and grayish blue color hair; and images of even more people he had yet to meet as well as familiar faces._

_"Can you see them? The people that your life touches? The ones that you have yet but will touch? You still have a long journey and I wish you to have it."_

_"I sense there's a 'but' in somewhere in that statement," Vegeta said as he blinked rapidly trying to clear his head._

_"There's always a 'but' part, however, I'm not going to tell you what it is. That's cheating," She teased with a broad smile, "And I'm totally one for learning through life lessons. So I want you to wake up, teach this jerk a lesson, and then keep your _mind open_. It won't do if you keep a closed mind- a closed heart. You might just miss your 'but' statement."_

_Vegeta repressed a groan but nodded in agreement to what his deity had to offer him. "I will do as you ask, my lady."_

_"Good," she laughed, finally touching him and running her fingers through his coarse hair, "Then _wake up."

_He felt a shock through his system and felt a strong pull on his body before a blinding flash of white overtook him.

* * *

_

"Wake up!" Someone was crying over him, shaking him and making the pain that ran up his side worsen.

Yep, he was definitely alive. He was pretty sure death wouldn't hurt this much. He let out a grunt, his breath stirring the dirt underneath him. He was just glad that no one had thought to flip him over with a spear piercing through him as it was. He swung his arm awkwardly behind him as he searched for the wood of the spear, opening his eyes to see the blurs of Upa and Bora hovering over him. Goku was standing defensively in front of them, trying to block any moves that the man in pink would try next.

"Neko!" Upa sounded relieved that he was alive.

"What? He lives?" The man who had pierced him asked with shock.

"Yes, moron, you're aim is lousy," Vegeta grunted as he finally grabbed hold of the wood, moving his arm lower down the pole closer to his wound. 

He used his ki to slice the wood, yet removing it from his wound. He had been run through enough to know that if he removed the piece, he would only bleed out without a healer around and die. After meeting his deity, he wasn't so into dying just yet and not meeting up to her expectations. As he lifted himself up, he noticed Goku's worry in his eyes.

"You're hurt! You should stay down, I'll fight him." Goku said, "He's after me anyways!"

"You'll do nothing of the sort. He almost _killed_ Bora like he was nothing. You're not prepared to fight someone like him. A killer? I think not," Vegeta huffed. "He's part of that Red Ribbon Army you spoke of?"

"Y-yeah," Goku blinked, surprised as the other Saiyan brushed the wound off as nothing, "He said his name is Mercenary Tao."

"An assassin for hire then. I'm accustom to these, though, it's been a while," Vegeta chuckled dryly, wincing as he jarred his wound.

Goku watched in utter disbelief along with Bora and Upa as Vegeta drew himself back up to standing position, readying his fighting pose. Mercenary Tao huffed angrily as he glared at the teen.

"I don't know where you came from, but you are nothing but a thorn in my side. I was hired to kill the boy, not the rest of you. Though, as I told them, I'll be more than happy to just add the rest of you to their tab."

"Well, I guess I'm going to do them a small favor by removing you from the pay role." Vegeta grunted.

"You think that _you'll_ be able to defeat me? You're half dead as you are!" Mercenary Tao laughed mockingly.

"I've seen bigger monsters than you." Vegeta smirked, "You're insignificant compared to them. Nothing but the scum on the bottom of their boots."

Tao didn't seem to like that analogy. His eyes hardened as he prepared his own stance, "You've proven yourself to be annoying to me. I'll do you in for free. You'll be dead before long."

"I'm still standing, aren't I?" Vegeta goaded, barking out a laugh to anger his opponent further, "You're not very good at this now are you? How much did you pay _them_ to give you the job?"

It surprised him to see that his goading had done the job. Popo had told him earlier today that negative emotions clouded emotions, just like too many positive. And equal amount had to be administered when being fueled, and in this case, Tao had become unbalanced.

He moved to the side when Tao tried to strike him open palm. Vegeta noticed that the hit had just enough ki in it to make it lethal to a normal human being. His pupils narrowed into slits as he began to hyper-focus on his surroundings and more importantly his opponent.

Using his left knee, he executed a counterattack. Tao's eyes widened as he took the blow to the gut that had him flying back right into one of the many trees in the area. He tentatively touched his stomach with his right hand, willing away the pain as he casted Vegeta a nasty glare.

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue? Or perhaps you're not all that." Vegeta taunted him, his tail lashing behind him in mockery.

Tao tried to strike him again, but again he dodged. The fight didn't last too long, but Vegeta was tiring quickly. Though his wound wasn't pouring out as much blood as it could, it was still flowing out well enough. His vision was fading in and out, but he refused to lose to a man like this.

Blow after blow, Vegeta was able to counter flawlessly, but he was having a hard time initiating attacks since his wound throbbed. Finally, Tao seemed to catch on. Vegeta was still sharp, but his wound slowed him down.

"You don't seem to be doing well," Tao mocked, "Are you just a dead man standing?"

"Feh," Vegeta spit to the side, ignoring the metallic tang that was starting to come up his throat, "I have seen worse days than this. But perhaps I shouldn't play with you anymore?"

Tao chuckled as he looked Vegeta up and down, "You're bluffing. You can hardly stand. You're just playing the waiting game now."

"Perhaps, perhaps not," Vegeta shrugged, "Someone like you couldn't probably tell a dead man from a living one however, so I shouldn't really take anything you say to heart."

That fired Tao up. He roared in anger as he pointed his finger at Vegeta shouting, "Dodon Ray!"

A blast of energy shot from that finger, right towards Vegeta. Vegeta's eyes narrowed as his body responded on impulse. This was the type of attack that would leave Tao open long enough to end the match. Mustering up all his ki that he could in such a short amount of time, Vegeta also aimed, taking his middle and index fingers and pointing them like a mock gun before shouting, "Gallic Gun!"

Tao's eyes widened as the purple blast not only ate at his small golden and red ray, but at the fast rate it was coming towards him, gaining mass as it continued its path. He had no place to escape and knew he had been cornered. With one last shout, Mercenary Tao was no more.

"That's what you get for messing with a Saiyan," Vegeta panted as he dropped his guard, breathing hard. He mumbled something foreign under his breath before collapsing again. Everything went black.


	9. Deceit

Sorry! Sorry! Don't hit me, please! I didn't mean to be so late on this, I hit a bump and was struggling with how to go about the chapter, but I think that I have finally worked out all the kinks, I just have to get it down on paper-er-word doc. I haven't re-read this more than once or twice, so if you notice anything really confusing or bad grammar, please point it out, I would like to correct any whoopsies I get.

I'll figure out which prompt to use, but honestly, the challenge is over... I missed the deadline a few weeks ago, but oh well, I enjoy writing this story too much.

This is all experimental and **_all_** feedback is wonderful. _**PLEASE**_ tell me what you really think.

Please, ask questions if you don't get it. I answer those that have a penname that I can pm the answer to.

Give me input on what _you'd_ like to see, and maybe you _might_ see it in this story or a different one depending one where I think it'd best be used. (And I give you credit for the story) Thank you all for helping me so far and I have considered a lot of what was offered, but I haven't made a total decision just yet.

Read and enjoy.

* * *

_He felt like he was watching the event in a third person view. As a bystander instead of as himself. Of course, this was how most of his dreams always began. As a Saiyan, he dreamed differently then humans, much to Bulma's excitement and to his annoyance. It took three weeks for her to realize that he wasn't about to have a discussion over the differences of a human dream and a Saiyan dream._

_But it was usually like watching as a bystander but understanding the thought process that went through his own head and they weren't _dreams_ as much as they were memories. Memories that the brain wanted to reanalyze and it didn't matter how long ago the even was, if some part of his brain wished to reanalyze something, he had to sit through it._

_This time he was watching something from long ago and it was surprising to him how much he had changed from his days under Frieza. He had once been callous, his heart hardened so he could kill without hesitation. But this memory made him realize how much he seemed to have separated from that part of his life and adapted to his life on earth._

_He watched quietly as he zoned in on himself sitting in his favorite spot in the giant library the Briefs had…_

_Vegeta's head snapped towards the location of the large bang, turning away from his private studies in the thick of the book shelves that littered the library and made a labyrinth that hid him well when he wished to be unfound._

_He cocked his head as he listened with his sharp ears for any following sounds. Living with the Briefs had proved that loud noises often meant trouble. There was the time that Briefs's experiment had blown and taken out half his lab- though no one was hurt in the incident._

_There had also been the time that Bunny, in her usual airheaded ways, left eggs boiling on the stove. She had forgotten them when she had been rushed out of the room by Bulma when she had asked her to see her newest invention… and after all the water had evaporated from the pot, the eggs imploded. It stunk terribly, so Vegeta refused to even eat at the table._

_And then there was Bulma. With more mood swings than he knew what to do with. His mother, who faded with time despite his impeccable memory, was usually pleasant and wonderful, proud and confident. Though, he did remember her temper as short as his, perhaps shorter. Though, again, she had faded with time. He could have imagined it._

_There was a rush of feet, quick and heavy like someone was running with heavy emotions. His brow crinkled as he lifted his nose to the air, licking the air with his tongue subtly. It tasted and smelled heavily of salty tears and the air suddenly felt thick with unsettled emotions._

_Another slam and he could hear the muffled whimpers of whoever was crying. He could almost smell her scent, hear her heartbeat beating erratically as well as hearing her distinct crying._

_Bulma. Bulma had come into the library crying her eyes out and what was worse was the fact that she thought she was alone. She tried to make it seem that she was fine when she was upset to the point of hiding herself when she cried._

_Apparently, she hid in the library. He muffled his groan as he ran his hands through his hair, and hoping she didn't hear him. Not only would it humiliate her, but he really didn't want to confront her. He knew nothing about crying girls and he would like to keep it that way._

_His instincts were telling him to get out of there as fast as he could, but then again, he was curious to what had made her cry. He knew that she was a hard cookie to crack and make crumble. Believe it when he said that it had been his intention with more than half the things that came out of his mouth when he was with her were meant to make her cry. Yet she'd laugh and it would just roll right over her._

_So getting her to cry was quite a feat…_

_And one that he didn't do, thus making him not only curious, but a little irate. It was his job alone to make her angry and cry and anything else that made her scream at him with a rage. His job, not anyone else's. And it looked as if someone was entering his territory and doing a better job at it._

_Something he could not allow._

_So despite his gut telling him to run for it, he followed his ears to where she was sniveling and stared at her for a while. Finally, when she noticed him, he felt his tail wave about nervously as he shifted in his spot. He felt nervous, like an animal approaching something uncommon for the first time._

_No words were passed, mostly because Vegeta lost his ability to form words on his tongue when she grabbed him and cried shamelessly as she squeezed him as hard as she possibly came. Any sarcastic words or witty sayings left him and for once, while no one else looked, he hugged her, holding her as she just cried._

_He cursed himself that day. He was getting protective and sentimental and weak…_

_And the worse part to him at that time was that he was allowing it to happen to him…_

_The dream suddenly ended, the image of him being hugged to death by a bawling Bulma disappeared and he was left it a world of white. Vegeta could see the white flash even brighter before him before awakening. Suddenly, he realized he didn't remember going to bed in the first place._

_

* * *

_

There was a stinging sensation on his side, making his muscles twitch around it. It wasn't pleasant and was a surefire way of bringing him from the recesses of his mind. He grunted as the objected was removed, leaving the wound open to the burning air.

"You're awake," said the deep baritone voice of Bora in a calm, but surprised tone, "Relax Vegeta, I am tending to your wound."

Vegeta gritted his teeth once the object- which he realized was a cloth drenched in healing poultice- was administered to his wound again. He was use to pain, but that didn't mean he was immune to it. His hands knotted themselves into the furs that made the humble bed to keep from attacking Bora.

"I managed to close the wound, but I thought it best to clean it so it wouldn't get infected." Bora told him, snaking one of his massive hands under Vegeta in order to lift him up to reach the other end. "It was very smart of you to slow the blood loss with the spear, though you lost a lot of mobility by it."

"So, he's gone?" Vegeta was always one for double-checking.

"No trace of him. That blast you made ate him entirely along with his ki technique." Bora paused, soaking the cloth before continuing, "I owe you my life, Vegeta-san. You saved me when I thought all was lost."

"Save it," Vegeta huffed, limp as his body refused to move after all the energy he had exerted, "You owe me nothing."

If anything it was the selfless act had been his saving grace.

He didn't realize he had drifted off again until he woke to the silent snores of the others around him. He blinked a couple times, taking in the time of night it was before looking around the small tent meant for only two. Bora and Uppa were sharing a bed, sleeping soundly. It was the rustling from the corner that brought attention upon the other Saiyan.

Goku was awake, staring at him with curiosity and confusion, not sure what to make of what had happened.

"How long have I been out?" Vegeta whispered, his throat dry from sleeping and his body still feeling quite heavy.

Goku perked, pulled from his musings that he had been in, to look at Vegeta, realizing he was awake.

"What?"

Vegeta swallowed, trying to wet his voice before restating his question, "Pay attention to your surrounds at all time, boy, even when your mind wanders. I asked of you the time. How long have I been out?"

"Oh," Goku blinked, "I can't tell time, Master Roshi hasn't gotten around to that, but the moon is on its way down from the sky. No light yet though."

Vegeta nodded before looking about, "Is there anything to drink?"

"Yeah, here," Goku said before taking a satchel from his clothing and produced a water skin. "Here, the water's not too cold, but it'll make you feel better."

He tipped it to Vegeta's mouth and the other Saiyan drank greedily. Once his thirst was met, he was able speak better.

"Where did you go?" Vegeta asked him.

Goku crinkled his forehead with a confused look, "I haven't gone anywhere since I came here."

"I meant, what where you thinking of?" Vegeta rectified his last statement.

"Then why didn't you just say that?"

"It's how the tribe here does say it. It's like asking to where your mind has wandered. Where did you go?"

"Oh, I get it, because it looks like your mind left your body, right? I see Bulma have that kind of expression all the time like her mind isn't with her body," Goku glowed, happy to understand what the other of his kind was telling him.

Vegeta had a way of making everything easier- just like his explanation to their Oozaru form. No one usually took the time to actually explain what they meant when their statement had a double meaning other than Bulma. Even Krillin would roll his eyes and say 'never mind' or the others would just change the subject.

"Correct," Vegeta nodded.

He was trying his best not to pry about Bulma, but the subject was hard to avoid. He wanted to know about her desperately now that he mentioned the blue haired girl.

"It doesn't add up," Goku shook his head, his face looking troubled again.

"What doesn't?" Vegeta asked as patiently as possible, the boy seemed to had grasped the idea of the statement.

"What you did for Bora and what Bulma said you did to her and Yamcha," Goku shook his head, arms crossed as he looked for guidance.

Apparently, the boy wasn't talking about the saying, but about something entirely different. Vegeta stared at him, trying to figure out what Goku had meant, but he had no clue as to what as going on and his head was beginning to pound.

"What?" Vegeta finally said, "What did I do to her? I told her I was leaving, that was all. As for the idiot boy, I shoved him and twisted his arm, so what? I do more playing hide and seek with you."

Now Goku was more confused, "Bulma said you just left without saying goodbye…" He paused as he tried to quote her perfectly on the next part since he had no clue as to what it meant, "But, she also said, you didn't leave before giving them the finger and you beat up Yamcha before telling him your last message."

"What!" Vegeta roared, suddenly sitting up in rage before falling back onto the bed with pain.

The other two in the tent jumped awake, but Vegeta only casted them a glance and Goku noticed the two where asleep again. Those onyx eyes that seemed to have put the other two under some sort of sleeping spell landed on him once again with a fire burning within them.

"That is _not_ what happened," Vegeta growled lowly, baring his fangs, "I left her a letter and I did not relay anything to that liar!"

"But Bulma said-" Goku was cut off when Vegeta began to sit up again, knowing that it was too soon for such an open wound as that, "Vegeta, you have to lay back down or you'll hurt yourself worse!"

"Show me," Vegeta demanded, a hand immediately resting on his aching wound as the other hand held him up.

"What?"

Vegeta grunted as he winced, but managed out the next words, "Our race is telepathic. Not as strong as a Namekian, but we do just fine within our own kind. Show me your memories of her."

He was panicking internally with this information. He had thought that Bulma knew the truth by now and had settled with the idea that he was going to return one day. And if she thought he just gave her a big forget you and took off, then why did her parents not rectify her misconception. Unless the that human teen that she had brought home was far worse than he had originally thought. His mind was in a flurry of thoughts and he needed to know how Bulma was doing NOW.

"How?" Goku asked, not sure how he was suppose to even share his memories with someone. Until he had met Bulma, he had always thought he was just human with a tail.

"Shut up and open your mind, I'll take care of the rest," Vegeta rumbled before quickly overtaking Goku's mind.

Goku could actually feel the presence of Vegeta's consciousness as it swept through his mind, looking for certain areas of his mind, probing spots in his mind. It was a strange feeling, but one that felt familiar to Goku. He had experienced it before and the feeling was almost welcoming, despite how rough Vegeta's mind was behaving in his state of anger.

Finally Vegeta's mind drew back as he growled, "That's not at all what happened."

"I don't get it, if that isn't what happened, then what did happen, Vegeta?" Goku didn't like the idea of one of his friends lying to him. Was Bulma being untruthful about what really happened?

Vegeta hesitated for a moment before his consciousness touched Goku's. It seemed to flash through his head like he was a bystander, watching as all of it played out before him. His confusion grew even more as he watched what really happened opposed to what had been told to him. Vegeta had left a letter! Her parents had known of his leaving and had even said it was for the best. Yamcha was the thing that didn't add up. Bulma knew the difference of roughhousing and being beaten up. She was usually wrestling with either him or Paur until Yamcha angrily broke it up because he didn't like the idea of Bulma fighting, but she usually brushed it off and said that she use to play all the time with Vegeta.

He had twisted her arm and let bruises on her all the time- on accident mind you- but she always shrugged it off as a con of wrestling someone stronger than her. In short, she knew when someone was beaten up and when someone had been roughhoused a bit.

So… did that mean that Yamcha had lied?

Goku shook his head, it was all too much. Yamcha was his friend, wasn't he? He suddenly felt that the answer wasn't as straightforward as he had once thought. He looked to Vegeta now for guidance, as the older Saiyan usually had a well thought out answer.

"So… what now?" Goku asked, his turbulent thoughts apparent to Vegeta, "Bulma doesn't deserve to be lied to."

"No, she doesn't," Vegeta nodded, but then shook his head, "But we can do nothing, not without evidence. Best not confuse her on the matter, so until there is hard evidence to his deceit, no one should try to correct it."

"So we lie to her?" Goku's voice rose in an upset matter, "That's just as bad as what Yamcha did! I can't lie to her. Bulma's my friend!"

"As you assumed that Yamcha was your friend as well," Vegeta silently snarled as to not awaken the others. "You cannot tell her without making her life harder than it already is! If you do so, she will struggle between what she believes is reality and what is true reality of the situation!"

He saw the defeat in the boy's eyes as he glanced away, his posture slumping as he resigned to the fact. Vegeta was actually silently impressed the younger- supposedly dumber- Saiyan had understood what he had meant. Vegeta knew he had a habit of using big words (Not like anyone was going to discourage that habit).

"Then what should we do?"

"Give me sometime, Goku," Vegeta sighed, his eyes becoming heavy, "Wake me after the sun just reaches over the mountain tops, I need to get my healing session. I should be well enough by that time to get to the top."

"The top of Korin's tower?" Goku asked, remembering what Bora had told him.

"A little higher than that," Vegeta nodded, closing his eyes as he began to drift.

"Hey, Vegeta," Goku added a moment later, finally having gathered his courage.

"Hm…" Vegeta was barely awake, but tried his best to listen.

"Could I ever become as strong as you are? You handled Tao like he was nothing. I don't think I could have taken care of that situation as cleanly as you did. And I…" Goku paused, his voice stuck for a moment before he turned his head to look away from Vegeta's form, "I don't want to feel helpless like I did. What if you hadn't been there? Bora would have died and Upa would have been really sad. I want to protect my friends."

Vegeta nodded, a tired eye opening as he glanced at Goku, "There is not much I can offer you now, but climb Korin's tower after I leave and try to obtain the sacred water from Korin. By showing your dedication to your goal, you will gain more strength than you have now. Enough to even defeat a man like Tao. Do not forget, we are Saiyans, a race of fighters… We are naturally stronger than humans… We grow in power when we face opponents stronger than ourselves. You will become strong soon enough, don't you worry…"

Vegeta's eye closed and too soon Goku could hear the soft purring like snores come from his kinfolk's throat. Goku smiled. He had been upset about being so useless in the fight and even more upset because even he could tell something was wrong with what he had been told by Bulma, but after one conversation with Vegeta, everything was better.

When he had first met Vegeta, the other male had seemed tense around him, almost expecting Goku to attack him. Also, he had been in a rotten mood, but Goku knew why now: he had left that night and was upset about it. When he had met him again, Vegeta was still scowling at him, but had come to teach him about his ancestry and birth rite: the Oozaru.

It had been a month of nights following that Vegeta and he trained to awaken his consciousness even when in beast form. After a while, they played before even beginning the training. Vegeta played all sorts of fun games with him, like a more Saiyan version of hide and seek, wrestling, and even tracking. Vegeta opened up quite a bit towards him, allowing Goku to see what Bulma had seen in the usually stoic alien.

He had been sad when Vegeta said his training was finished and disappeared once more. He had taught him so much and Goku was grateful. Learning to master the Oozaru state meant that he hadn't put his friends in danger during the World Tournament because not only had he known to avoid looking at the moon, but when Jacky-chun had accidently forced his gaze that way, he was able to keep his wits. He had stepped out of the ring purposefully because of it, but he felt it better to protect his friends and the innocent people in the audience than try to continue in such a large form.

Finally at ease, Goku closed his eyes and soon was asleep.

* * *

Vegeta felt that morning came too early, but he woke without complaints when Goku coaxed him awake. Bora and Upa too were already up and with worried looks as Vegeta used Goku's smaller form to keep himself standing.

"Are you sure that you can fly that far, Vegeta?" Bora asked, looking at the wound that was already staining the dressings.

"I must," Vegeta breathed heavily. He felt terrible, but knew he'd feel worse if he didn't get there in time for his session. "Once I get there, I'll be treated immediately, so don't worry about it. I'll be down as soon as I can to offer you solace about my current state of health."

With that, he took to the air, hovering barely above the ground as he fought to get his bearings before shooting up into the sky. He was already seeing spots in his vision, but he'd be darned if Kami had to come down to look for him like a lost child. He was eighteen and he was to be treated as such.

Picking up more speed and pushing himself as far as he could, he barely noticed it when he pasted the Korin's tower. His eyes became tunnel-vision as he focused only on looking for the lookout. It had been record time reaching the top, but Vegeta didn't have time to pat himself on the back and he landed safely on the tiles, immediately he crumpled to the ground, breathing hard as his hand went to put pressure on the wound. He could barely make out the sounds of panicked footstep approaching.

"Oh Vegeta," he heard the old voice of the Namekian sigh as he felt himself lifted up, "I would have fetched you, you know."

He didn't reply. He had blacked out not a moment later from the exertion he had forced upon his body. He had tried too much too fast and had known he probably had been bleeding out for the last ten minutes or so as he forced himself to use all the ki possible to get to the top. But at least he knew he was safe in the arms of his mentor.

* * *

Blearily, Vegeta's eyes opened once more to see the familiar setting that he had become accustom to calling his room. Groaning, he took the finely made fur pelt blanket and pulled it over him. He felt like he had been hit by a truck, and believe him when he said he knew the feeling. Plowing into planet Earth felt very similar to being nailed by a semi-truck, he was sure.

"I'm glad you're awake," his mentor's amused chuckle followed the statement, "You gave Mr. Popo and I quite a fright landing as you did. I suppose I should keep more of an eye on your ki if you are going to get wounded like that when on the surface."

"I'm not some little puppy that needs to be followed around; I'm an adult. If I thought I was in over my head, I would have found a way to contact you," Vegeta grumbled, reaching to touch his side to discover the wound was closed and fully healed.

"It was already scarring when I began healing it," Kami mentioned, "So there is some traces of the scar tissue remaining."

"That's fine." Vegeta didn't mind a permanent reminder of his deed.

He felt the smooth scar tissue with the tips of his fingers and smiled slightly, though no one saw because of his fur blanket hiding his appearance.

"So, would you mind telling me how you came to be gravely wounded?" Kami asked, Vegeta could hear him pulling up the only seat that he had in his room.

Quickly, Vegeta retold everything that had happened, Kami quietly listening as he did. Popo only interrupted the retelling once and that was because of the meal he was bringing in for Vegeta. After that, he too sat in while Vegeta finished telling the story.

Kami nodded when Vegeta came to a close. His eyes were closed as he meditated quickly on all that had been said.

"I see." He started, opening his eyes and giving the teen an approving smile, "I am very proud of your courage and honor, Vegeta. You have come a long way from the boy I brought here and yet I still see so much potential in you. Your people are a greater race than the Kais let on, or perhaps they had forgotten with time the accomplishments your people can garner."

Vegeta blushed at the high praise of his sensei. It wasn't often that Kami said such flattering words. The man was kind, but he didn't flatter people very often.

"As for the situation with Bulma," Kami continued, grabbing Vegeta's attention again, "I will trust in whatever decisions you make concerning the problem. Remember to keep a level head about it because every decision you make does not only affect you but-"

"Everyone else around me. I know." Vegeta nodded, "That is why I struggle at what to do. I know that if I just expose him as a liar without hard evidence, Bulma will have a difficult time figuring out who to believe. I want it as straightforward as possible, but would I be putting her in danger if I expose him without being around to protect her? The liar, while not as strong as me, could bully a normal human easily…"

Kami 'hmm'ed at the circumstances placed before him. He closed his eyes, crossing his arms as he once again meditated on the answer. He was Kami after all, the guardian of Earth. He was an expert of figuring out how to make everything work properly.

"I have a feeling that there is only one being on this entire planet that could help you find what you are looking for," Kami finally spoke as he pulled from his deep thoughts. "And that is Paur."

* * *

A/N:

I know I don't usually add footnotes, but I felt like I have to explain a few things. Goku and Vegeta have a different relationship than in the canon. Vegeta has been around Goku more and he believes that Goku is his responsibility because of their Saiyan blood. Sure, Goku doesn't remember, but he's all that Vegeta has that's even close to kinfolk on Earth. Goku grows a lot by having another Saiyan around that shows him it's okay not to be a human. He shows him being a Saiyan isn't a terrible horrible thing like the canon Goku thinks when at King Kai's world. He's being introduced into a Saiyan culture that isn't entirely about killing like the canon adult Vegeta would think.

Goku probably idolizes Vegeta at this point. He just saved Bora and he actually cares for other lives. Hell, Vegeta takes the time to listen to Goku, where as I notice most characters just roll their eyes where Goku is concerned. If Goku is unsure, he knows Vegeta will have an answer. In my story, Goku probably feels as if Vegeta's the only person who will give it to him straight without watering it down or will explain it several times till he gets it right- other than Bulma who does the same thing for him.

I hope that I was able to show this development of character between the two and I wanted to write this out before anyone had to mention it or be confused by it.


	10. Fall into Step

Okay! Here is your next chapter!

_LPphreek_ had asked for Bulma's perspective, but unfortunately, in this arc, she is at Roshi's place building a better dragon radar and is totally busy. I don't really want to research all that again, but I do remember that Puar and Yamcha and Oolong weren't with her, so I figured they were safe to use until the day Goku defeats the Red Ribbon Army. Then all of them are at Roshi's. Yeah... Canon shot me in the foot with this one, but there is going to be a gap of three years (which I am going to change to two because of artistic license). I'll write her perspective then.

Yeah, I research, which was probably why it took a while to get the last one out. I had to make sure the flow was just right for my intended story line.

As to Vegeta's age appearance and height- I managed to add that in this chapter. (Thanks _Any_) Also, he might be wearing something weird, so I'll try to sketch it out and post the link on my profile as soon as possible. I will probably mention it in my author notes when it is done in the next update.

This is all experimental and **_all_** feedback is wonderful. _**PLEASE**_ tell me what you really think.

Please, ask questions if you don't get it. I answer those that have a penname that I can pm the answer to.

Give me input on what _you'd_ like to see, and maybe you _might_ see it in this story or a different one depending one where I think it'd best be used. (And I give you credit for the story) Thank you all for helping me so far and I have considered a lot of what was offered, but I haven't made a total decision just yet.

Read and enjoy.

* * *

Puar let out a sigh, looking sadly at the glass of ice milk in front of her. Lightly, she took a well manicured finger and dipped it into the cream, stirring it as the dance music became nothing but background noise.

"Something the matter miss?" The bartender asked her, being familiar with one of their more frequent visitor.

He had seen her too many times before. One day the young miss started appearing at this dance club and from then on, she just kept coming back. A lovely thing she was, flawless doll face, long grayish blue hair that was perfectly placed into an intricate hairstyle, matching colored cat's eyes, manicured hands, hourglass figure, nice clothes, high heels made from the finest shoe makers, and a catty look to her, but all around, she was a gorgeous young lady.

"What?" she said, her silvery bell voice sounding surprised, "Oh, no. I was just thinking. Thank you for caring though."

"You come in so often is all, usually you're having the time of your life dancing away with all the fine men on the dance floor, but today you seem a little out there." The bartender confessed with a guilty grin, "I don't mean to stare, but you come so often."

Puar smiled sweetly at him, giving him one of the catty grins she was infamous for here. "I'm fine. Just… lost in thought for something I can never have."

"And that'd be?" He pressed, glad to see that the young lady was such a gem inside as she was out.

"A man of my own," She conceded with a secret smile.

"Well miss, I don't know how true that statement could be, but there is a gentleman that's been looking at you for a while. Dressed wildly, but I bet a man like he would love to dance with a young lady as yourself. Maybe you'll find that man you never think you'll have."

Puar's brows pulled together in confusion, slowly she glanced at the place that the bartender was pointing at to see a handsome man. Not her type, but he was quite different than the others that hung around here. His eyes were strictly upon her, watching as she made eye contact. She smiled happily to the bartender before finishing her milk and trotting off towards the other teen.

"I have been informed that you've been staring at me for a while," She teased, with a little bend at the waist and pulled her hands behind her back, "If you're so persistent as to stare at me, perhaps you'd like a dance?"

"Perhaps," was his one word answer, giving her a crooked smirk.

His voice was deep and as handsome as his sharp features. He looked about her age maybe a little older- eighteen or so. He seemed to rival Bulma in height perhaps an inch taller, but that was fine since Puar was barely five feet even in a transformation. His hair was all beaded at the bottom of his long locks of hair with some sliver beads, most of it was pulled into the pony tail at the nape of his neck, the for the shorter strands that weren't long enough, they were thrown to the right side of his head. He was wearing pants that reminded her of chaps that cowboys would wear, but the fabric was different- like silk but more durable. His hips were exposed to the elements, but his shirt covered his front. His shirt was long almost Asian looking but with a flair that almost seemed alien. Something about him though was familiar.

He held out a hand for her to take, but offered a little more words to her, "However, you'll have to forgive me, I've never danced before."

"Never danced?" She asked surprised, before turning her face into another smile, "Well, I will remedy that. No woman with a good head on her shoulders will take a man with two left feet!" She took his hand pulling him with a laugh as the music turned into something upbeat.

He obliged her, following her movements and eventually began to lead. Paur laughed happily as she enjoyed herself, totally forgetting her worries on the floor with this mystery man. It was nice for once to totally forget about everything else and just enjoy the moment where she was able to dance freely.

"You seemed to be having fun," her male partner commented once the final song had been played, "Do you often come here to participate?"

"Yes," Puar laughed, still smiling from her night, "It is my one passion in this world!"

"May I walk you home?" her mystery man asked, offering his arm to her.

"No, you may not," Puar shook her head, but placed her hand on his arm nonetheless, "But you may walk me to the bus stop."

He gave her a smirk and did just that, not even looking upset at her obvious decline. Puar wasn't stupid, she knew what most men were after, so she always declined any further attempts at relationships besides dancing partners. It wasn't personal, but she wasn't necessarily capable of maintaining a relationship.

The cool air hit them as they walked out into the night. It was strange, she had never really had someone actually escort her to her bus without expecting anything, but he was different. It was nice.

"So, what is your name, oh mystery man," Puar teased him again, with a smile and a light laugh.

"You may call me Neko, as many people do," her escort said with a bow of his head, "And your name is Puar, no?"

She froze. She never ever told anyone her name. Never. It was part of her philosophy that she danced till dawn, but never let her name be stolen from her lips. She tried to pull away, but Neko was too strong for her.

"Calm down shape-shifter," he chuckled, "I am not here to expose you to anyone. I merely wish to speak to you about a common friend."

"A common friend, Neko-san?" Her voice quivered as she allowed him to lead her to the park that was off route to her bus stop, "I do not believe that I have met you before. Nor would any of my friends associate with a strange man such as yourself."

"Before you were purring my praises, now you hiss at me," Neko chuckled, "Strange, I rarely get hisses from _cats_."

It was sudden, but the wind had blown her direction, forcing his scent upon her and she nearly purred despite her current form. There was that familiar scent that she had only been privy to _once_. It made her pupils contract into nothing but slivers and she could not stop staring at him. She was certain at that moment, if he had asked anything from her, she would not decline.

"You recognize me now," those onyx eyes seemed amused as the two of them paused in the middle of the park.

"You… your-"

"I'd rather you call me Neko for now," he cut her off. She could feel a tail brush against her calf, "Now, little shape-shifting cat, I have a favor to ask of you."

She hissed feral like at him, scratching him as she freed herself from his hold, "How dare you! How dare you come here and ask a favor of me! After what you did to Bulma!"

"How dare I?" He hissed back just as easily as she, "Little cat, you know nothing of me."

"I know enough!" She yelled back, stomping her foot despite her fear, "You left her! You made her terribly sad! And not to mention what you did to poor Yamcha!"

"'To poor Yamcha'?" He laughed at her words, "I see now." Puar felt fear creep up her throat as his pupils became nothing more than slits while hers dilated widely. "You're in love with the boy."

"Stop." Puar muttered, holding a fist to her chest and clutching at the clothes.

"You've been watching as he has frolicked with the girl!" Neko laughed loudly, holding his sides.

"Stop it," she muttered a little louder, clenching harder.

"And all along your just the best friend he'll _never_ love."

"STOP IT!" She finally screamed, tears pouring from her face.

He stopped, crossing his arms as she continued to rant. "You're right, okay! I have been madly in love with Yamcha since the very moment I met him! I watched over him as he struggled with every female he _met_. I supported him through thick and thin! And you know what? He chose Bulma! Bulma!" She sobbed for a second as she fell to her knees, her hands fisting in the dirt, "I love Bulma… but he was _mine_! And I tried to win his heart countless times, but you know what? I'm just a cat. A freaky shape-shifting cat that will never be a human! I can pretend to be one for a night at most, but I will never really be what I want the most! A human girl that Yamcha will love!"

She remained where she was for a few minutes before she hear him let out a frustrated groan and shift from foot to foot. "Alright, enough with the waterworks."

"I… I can't," Puar whimpered as she tried to wipe her eyes dry. "I just can't seem to stop…"

It surprised her when he generated a handkerchief and held it out to her, "Dry your tears. I can't stand seeing a female cry."

"It's all your fault though," she hiccupped, taking the hankie and using it, "I hate it when I lose it. You're a jerk, just like Bulma said you were."

She heard him chuckle as he stooped low enough for her to see eye to eye with him, "Yeah, she would say that. Now." He gently took her in his bigger hands and pulled her up, "Up you go."

"I don't get you. You make me cry, then you are kind you me. What is it you want?" She asked weakly.

"What I want is the truth." He all but purred, using his natural charm on her unknowingly, "And all you want is to be a real human. So I have an idea."

"And what would that be, _Neko-san_?" She snapped, still feeling like she was on a emotional rollercoaster.

"I give you what _you_ want," he said as he quickly circled from one side of her to the over, "and you help me expose the truth."

"And why not expose the truth yourself? And what truth are you talking about anyway?"

"I no longer hold merit in her eyes, do I?" Neko whispered, "Not without evidence to my innocence."

"And what is this evidence or this truth you speak of for that matter?" He was playing mind games on her, she knew he was, but she couldn't help but feel that whatever he was talking about was vitally important.

She was suddenly rammed into the tree, it was gentle enough not to hurt her, but she was still winded and shocked. "I never left her alone! I had written her a letter explaining this situation and that rat_ stole_ it like the bandit he was!" He snarled, his anger apparent, "I no longer can show my face to her without my _honor_ restored to me. How could I ask her to look me in the face when all she knows is a lie? I'll give your humanity if you agree to help me."

"Are you saying that Yamcha is a liar?" Puar roared, baring her teeth that were slowly becoming more cat like as her hold on the form was waning.

"I am saying nothing of the sort. That is a decision you'll need to come upon on your own. I merely want my side to be known _with_ the evidence that will prove my innocence."

"Why do you care so much then? Why must you prove yourself to Bulma? Does it really matter all that much in the long run?"

He was quite for a moment before unpinning her from the tree. In all honesty, he really didn't know what drove him to make himself innocent in her eyes. It was a need deep within him that he didn't understand. It was a bond not yet identified but it was there and very strong.

"It matters to me because I mattered to her." He finally said.

Puar looked away, shocked at the statement. He was nothing like what she had been told. They were more alike than Puar wanted to believe right now. She had once been Yamcha's whole world- his supporter, his council, his best friend. But lately, she had been left in the dust, no longer the apple of his eye now that Bulma was around. She loved Bulma- she really did- but because of her, she didn't matter to Yamcha anymore. Those words echoed in her for a moment before she began to nod, shakily at first then steadfastly.

"Alright…" She finally conceded, "I'll… help you look for your evidence."

"I thank you," He bowed his head.

"But that doesn't mean I believe you. Yamcha wouldn't do such a thing."

He didn't say anything, but the look he gave her said plenty. He was going to let her live in her little reality. All he wanted was that Bulma's reality was set straight, no one else's.

"It's quite late," he finally muttered, "I have failed to get you to your bus stop, so allow me to guide you home safely."

Puar didn't object this time. She was tired, emotionally drained, and just wanted to crawl back to her little bed and sleep the night off the best she could. She offered her hand to him to take, like he had done so before while pretending to escort her to her bus stop, but instead, he grabbed her and pulled her into his hold.

"Hold tight and don't scream," his voice teased her before suddenly they were up in the air _flying_.

"Ohmygosh," she breathed out, latching onto him with slight fear of being dropped.

He was highly amused by her fear, but didn't play on it cruelly. Quickly but gently enough he flew her back to Capsule where she, Yamcha, and Oolong still lived with Bulma and her family. Neko paused a while away to take in the view. Puar realized he hadn't been back in over a year to the place he had once called home. He pressed on after a few moments, landing her on the balcony where her doors were still open from her initial escape.

He said nothing as he nodded to her, backing up and taking to the sky again, towards the crescent moon that hung in the sky. She just shook her head, heading inside before releasing the transformation. Quickly she went through her usual steps of putting away the clothes and shoes she had worn that night in her secret stash and promptly passed out in her bed.

* * *

Goku sighed as he sat there, staring at Korin. He had made it up here last night, but he wasn't doing very well. Korin was hard! And there was even the time the sneaky cat threw his dragon ball off the tower, making him have to climb down and back up. His muscles hurt and he vaguely wondered how Vegeta had managed this the first time!

It was as if Kami was answering his wonderings when the raven haired teen suddenly appeared in an outfit very different from the humble clothes he had worn before when down with Bora.

"Vegeta?" he had to ask, just to make sure that this was even the same person… his hair was lying limp instead of shooting upright like usual, perhaps those beads kept it down?

"Yes, it's me," Vegeta sighed, leaning against the wall before slowly slumping against it.

Goku could tell that Vegeta was more exhausted that even he was. There were obvious bags under his eyes and the droopiness of his eyes proved how much the older Saiyan wanted to sleep. However, despite the many questions about his presence at Korin's tower, the one that came out first was-

"What are you wearing? You're hair looks long and kinda funny."

Actually, it probably only looked strange because the upsweep hair was now down like a regular human's hair. He almost looked like a human… almost.

"Kami thought it best that I look a little different if I was to blend in," Vegeta muttered, rubbing his right eye that was beginning to blur in rebellion to his exhaustion, "So he materialized this outfit on me. The beads are metal weights, so as long as I don't charge up my ki too much, they'll keep my hair down."

"Oh," Goku nodded, before letting the two of them fall into a silence.

"I know this seems a bit unfair, but I need the dragon's wish," Vegeta finally spoke, breaking the long pause between the two of them.

He wanted to get back soon so he could just sleep all of this off. Kami could heal him while unconscious, but it worked best if he was awake- though he hardly cared right now. Sleep was the only thing on his tired mind. He hadn't slept well in the past few days trying to organize everything.

"No, it's alright, I was going to gather most of them anyways because of the Red Ribbon Army. I think the best way of making them stop hurting others is to wipe them out. I'll gather the balls from them and we'll see how many left I'll need." Goku nodded, pausing a moment before asking, "What are you going to wish for?"

"I made a promise to a friend of yours," Vegeta grunted, trying to get up so he could finally find his way to his bed, "That I would wish her to be a human."

"Why's that?"

"Because then she'll cooperate. She's no doubt the only one who knows that bandit in and out."

"Puar?" Goku guessed, but then added, "Why would she want to be a human?"

"The heart is a fickle thing." Was all Vegeta allowed, finally up and shuffled out to the balcony, "Hurry up with your training and get back to hunting the dragon balls. I can't leave this area for long."

Goku nodded and watched the other Saiyan leave. He then observed the cat once more, trying to figure it out. Sure, he could have asked Vegeta, but he doubted the other Saiyan would really actually tell him. He remembered that Bora said Vegeta had told him that _through_ the challenge that the reward was to be received…

Perhaps he was looking at this all wrong. Korin's earlier words rang through his head as well. The cat had constantly told him that he was too easy to read. That he should be paying closer attention to Korin's breathing. Was that it? He looked over to the cat, shrugging as he slowly synced himself with the old cat's breathing and mimicked his every move. Anything was worth a try at least once.

* * *

Scratch was already starting her day. It was a simple matter really, but she felt the need to do it everyday since her initial coming to the compound. Every morning she got up before Dr. Briefs and his lovely wife and headed to the inner garden. Upon entering, she would greet the other cats, exchanging news with them, like what was going on with the neighbors and the happenings in the streets before pressing on to greet the dogs, birds, and dinosaurs.

Every single one was friendly and receptive to her. She had put forth a large amount of effort to be on good terms with everyone. After all, they provided her with some of the most intriguing information in the whole world, and believe her when she boasted that she had been around the world at least once.

However, there was one cat that was missing: Puar. Now Puar was a special kind of cat, like she was, that could actually understand humans and had an unnaturally long life span. Scratch figured it was because of some scientific DNA testing that had been preformed before the Final World War, but that was all speculation on her part due to her studies. She wasn't _that_ old, but she had come to learn to read in the last few years or so while Dr. Briefs was working. It helped her in her own studies- like why she was so intelligent or why Puar could shape-shift and speak the human tongue so easily.

None of the other cats could retain as much knowledge as she or Puar so sometimes she was relieved that Puar was around to talk to. The other cats tended to reach a peak to where they could learn, and do not even get her started on the dogs. It was lonely at the top, but Puar often kept her company, though it was hard to be around someone who wished desperately to be a human. She _could_ communicate with them already, what more was there?

After finishing her meal that the bots brought to her in the garden, she padded off with a fish in her mouth for go find her feline companion before starting her day with Dr. Briefs. Though he didn't really understand the magnitude of her intelligence, he would still ask her questions time to time to which she'd help him answer in some way or another- though he didn't know that, it was just his way of thinking out the problem.

Puar was very different from she. While Scratch was intelligent and polite but somewhat standoffish to humans, Puar was warm and gentle. She had a heart of gold. Her intelligence, however, was mediocre, but eons better than the other animals. Shaking her thoughts from such things, she easily played with the door knob that lead to Puar's room- which was because the shape-shifting cat insisted to be as humanly as possible- and opened it with little difficulty.

She headed for the chair near the desk, hopping onto the desk, and using that to easily jump onto the bed. She was too small to climb up the bedding with a fish in her mouth. She dropped the meal before batting at the long tail that was underneath the covers.

"Up and at 'em," she said, now pressing her paw on the long tail, "It's well past sunrise and I highly doubt you were out _that_ long dancing. The clubs close at two."

"Hmprph," the grayish blue cat muttered as she pushed herself further into the pile of pillows.

Scratch knew that Puar was a nocturnal creature. Most of the time she spent her nights on a dance floor pretending to be a human, if only for a while, so she never was good at getting up. However, usually she would stir a bit better than this.

"What now, a boy came and stole your heart off that dance floor of yours?" She poked fun at the slightly younger cat.

"No, worse," came the reply as Puar withdrew even her tail to under her sheets. "He made my heart doubt."

"Doubt your love for that boy- Yamcha?" Scratch persisted. "I hardly think one night with another lad would make you question your affection for another unless he was one hell of a kisser."

"No," Puar finally poked her head out of the pile of pillows, "He didn't win my affections. He didn't want _my_ affections, but he questioned the merit of Yamcha… and I can't figure out if he was right or maybe if he was lying. I don't know! I am so confused, Soreya!"

Soreya was Scratch's true name. Noraneko Soreya was her name from the street. It wasn't the most impressive name, but she thought it suited a cat such as she. Of course, no human knew her real name, they all preferred to call her either 'Scratch' or 'Kitty', both of which she responded to with a meow.

"What is there to be confused about, Puar?" She asked, licking her paw and quickly grooming the other cat to offer her solace.

"He- Neko-san- he said that Yamcha lied to Bulma!"

"Yamcha lies about all sorts of things, none too big, but humans often do not speak the truth all the time." Soreya shrugged, thinking the matter blown out of proportion before she caught whiff of the lingering scent on Puar.

"No… it was big." Puar sniffled, rubbing her paw against her eye as to fight back the tears.

"Tell me, was this… _Neko-san_… was it-" She was cut off when Puar nodded, looking away.

"He insisted I call him Neko."

"Well… that changes things." Soreya nodded, no longer brushing it off as nothing. "_Neko-san_ does not lie about things such as that. What did he tell you exactly, Puar. I need you to give me it word for word so I can figure out what you should do."

"You… you believe him?" Puar looked aghast that she would just believe something was wrong- that Yamcha really had lied big time.

"I was around longer than you. I was here when he was here. The amount of trust placed on that boy by Dr. Briefs and his wife is massive. I was there when he was making plans with them to leave and I was there to see him off when the others could not."

Puar could not believe what she was hearing, "But… but he didn't say goodbye! Bulma was lying to her parents when she said he had told her goodbye. He beat up Yamcha and left!"

"No," Soreya was now very sure whatever was going on wasn't right, "I was there. That boy had a smell like no other and I helped him by keeping the other cats away. I was there when the Vegeta introduced the Namekian to Dr. Briefs and his wife and all four of them discussed Vegeta leaving to heal and gain control over his sudden burst in strength. I even saw him compose the letter he left for Bulma! I waited for him at the door to give him one last goodbye! He really did leave on good terms. Vegeta was having trouble controlling his strength, but it is out of character for him to act violently towards one of Bulma's friends."

"But Yamcha-"

"Puar, I don't think Yamcha was telling the truth," She shook her head looking urgently at the other cat, "Do you honestly think I would make up such a thing?"

The severity of the situation hit Puar like a ton of bricks. Yamcha had lied about everything. He had lied about how Vegeta left, no doubt stealing the letter, and now she wondered if Vegeta even beat up the boy of her affections at all. If he had lied about all those things… what else did he lie about!

The first thing that came to Puar's mind was not about proving _Neko_'s innocence or finding proof about his declaration to her that he had left a letter. No. The first thing that was on her mind was trying to get Yamcha out of the Brief's home and making sure Bulma was safe.

Yamcha wasn't above stealing from little old ladies, that much she knew from her time with him as a bandit. He stole from anyone he could. Pretty girls just tended to get away because of his phobia, but still, sometimes he succeeded robbing them as well. He wasn't above hitting a girl if they were aggressive towards him or being irritatingly incompliant. Yamcha wasn't a nice bandit like Robin Hood, but she had once loved him without question…

Now, she felt like questioning everything about him. Her heart shattered as she thought more and more about the severity of the situation. She had to find a way to get him out and fast…


	11. Keeper of the Dragon Balls

Hey everyone,

Yeah, I know. I have some explaining to do. I have been busy lately with everything that has been going on in my life and I have only recently been figuring out things about myself that I should have known from the beginning- Like I'm ADHD.

Yeah. That explains a lot- like why I can't finish anything. I'm getting help with working around the problem, so I was able to finish writing this chapter. I _hope_ I was able to keep Vegeta in character, but I think I might re-edit the end a couple times before I call it good. But I think with the relationship that Goku and Vegeta share in this story makes him more willing to deal with Goku.

I hope that I got Popo's speech pattern right. I'm not sure. I'll try again if I didn't get right.

As _LPphreek_ had requested, a little bit from Bulma's side of the story. Not much, but I hope it relates how Bulma is feeling. By the way, if you haven't already, go read _Homeless Boy_ by _LPphreek._ It's seriously awesome. Sometimes I feel like I'm a precursor compared to her writing! ^_^ Read _Rediscovering Honor_ as well. They get a little dark at times (there are chapters I have to skip, srry) but so far, the ending of _Rediscovering Honor_ was pretty good.

If you want to read other stories I thought were pretty awesome, look them up in my community. I've read a countless number of stories and those are the ones I thought were either written well or had a great story plot without a lot of OOC.

This is all experimental and **_all_** feedback is wonderful. _**PLEASE**_ tell me what you really think.

Please, ask questions if you don't get it. I answer those that have a penname that I can pm the answer to.

Give me input on what _you'd_ like to see, and maybe you _might_ see it in this story or a different one depending one where I think it'd best be used. (And I give you credit for it in the story) Thank you all for helping me so far and I have considered a lot of what was offered, but I haven't made a total decision just yet.

Read and enjoy.

* * *

The silence was thick. Everyone could feel the tension of their decision and were all nervous- except for Launch, but the blonde was use to violence. Bulma wasn't that into hurting people, but she did enjoy a good fight. Whenever she could, she had always enjoyed wrestling with Goku, despite how easily he could overpower her. She withheld a sigh as she stared out the front window while Yamcha piloted the plane towards where the Red Ribbon Army's base was. It was nerve wracking really. They were moments away from battle and the only thing she could even think about was _him_.

HIM! Of all the times she had to think of him, it was right now, right before heading into a battle she might not make it out of. She could hear all his rants about how she should be at home where it was _safe_, where he knew she wasn't in danger. Because she was just one huge magnet for danger and going towards it didn't help her chances.

She shook her head to clear it from his words and voice that wasn't really there. The child's image disappeared as she forced Goku's image into the front of her mind. That was what mattered right now! Goku! He was in over his head and they were going to help him!

And plus, she couldn't turn back now if she wanted to! Not only was there just one small plane of them, but they had already gotten past a heat seeking missile and that crazy woman piloting the other airship! There was no way to turn back! No!

She glanced around the room to take in the expressions of everyone that was in the plane. Krillin, Roshi, and Launch were much calmer than the rest of them. Oolong was acting like the coward he was, Yamcha was taking everything very well (but the two of them already had fought about coming earlier), and Puar looked like she was lost in her own little world.

She couldn't blame the cat. She was still having lingering doubts about coming as well, but she was fearful for Goku's life. The boy was gullible, friendly, and very forgiving, unlike _him_. She was scared that he wouldn't see through a lie or maybe forgive the bad guys just to turn around and get stabbed in the back. Goku was almost everything to her right now in her life.

Yamcha was nice and all- don't get her wrong- but she sometimes felt insecure around him. She always felt foolish or not pretty when around him because even though he told her he loved her, his eyes wandered and he even had a fan club at his school. They would constantly tell her that she was a hag or unfit to be Yamcha's girlfriend.

What was worse was Yamcha never did anything to make her believe as if they were just lying to make her feel bad. Most people thought she was vain and difficult, but it was because all her life she had been teased about her looks. Only _he_ had ever made her feel like she stood above the rest and _he_ left with middle finger raised as soon as he could.

It had honestly devastated her. If it hadn't been for Yamcha being around, she probably would have never recovered from it. It was so hard too. She had to go around pretending everything was okay with her parents. Her recent mood swings had everyone on edge, particularly her parents since it seemed to have come from nowhere.

When Goku had shown up with the promise of adventure, she was all for leaving and being with someone who truly didn't judge her and listened to her and played with her. That was something she missed greatly. Yamcha didn't like wrestling with her, he said it was unfitting for a girl like her to fight or act like a little brat- even though it was fine that he could fight and train… She wasn't allowed to in his books. It was his place to protect her, he would tell her with a warm smile, but that didn't make her want to learn any less.

In fact, he didn't like how she couldn't cook, how she always had her nose stuck in a book, how unruly she tended to be, and the whole fact that she was smarter than him. Of course, he never flat out said it, but the way he would look at her when he didn't approve or the way he lectured her told her all she needed to know.

The only other relationship she had that made her feel better was the relationship with Puar. She always had a way of brightening her up, encouraging her that everything was going to be okay. In fact, she knew all of Puar's secrets that not even Yamcha knew- like how she danced all night at a club. Puar was a sweetheart and truly her only girlfriend in the world until she met Launch at Roshi's house during her stay there.

Launch was a strange one, having two personalities that clashed, but both were really nice once you got to know them. The blonde Launch had to be her favorite though because she acted the way she wanted and others be darned. She didn't care what anyone else had to say and Bulma longed for that kind of freedom. If anything, it was an painless reminder of _him_.

Her mind was pulled from her thoughts when Yamcha announced their arrival and began to land the aircraft. The landing was rough, but they made it safely on the ground. Bulma bit her lip, thinking of that one last lecture she would have received from _him_ if _he_ had known what sort of danger she just put herself into.

"Alright," Yamcha said as they headed out, pulling the sword from the sheath on his back, "Let's get in there and help!"

"Help with what?" Bulma asked, "We hardly know the situation going on and we _have_ no battle plan."

The only reason she had even called Yamcha was because they had no type of aircraft back at Roshi's. She was still not officially over how he had behaved at the amusement park and something inside her felt as if she could do better than him. But _he_ was there… and what was she suppose to do? Love someone younger than she by at least eight or nine years? That just screamed cradle robber and 'cougar' in the making.

"Well do you have a better plan?" Yamcha snapped back at her, not liking the way she questioned his authority, "You're the one who dragged us all here to help the kid! He got in over his head and now we're dragged into it!"

"Hey guys," Krillin whined, seeing where this was headed, "We're suppose to be fighting the bad guys, not each other!"

"Hey! Look!" Puar cut in as she pointed to something in the sky.

Bulma stopped her bickering to look into the sky, smiling brightly as she saw the golden nimbus cloud flying high above. "Goku!" She shouted happily, waving her arms in the air to flag him down.

The cloud suddenly swerved, coming closer to the earth and Goku was on board, smiling and happy. His clothes were slightly tattered, but nothing too terrible.

"Bulma!" Came the delighted reply as the boy launched himself out of his cloud and hug tackled the girl.

She caught him, barely able to balance herself and gave him a 'ooph' at the impact, but immediately began to laugh at his happy embrace. Bulma hugged him tightly. To her, it felt wonderful to be loved like this. Goku let her hold him, wrapping his tail around her waist and snuggled happily into her embrace, his arms around her neck.

"Goku!" Krillin shouted, running up to the two. He too was happy to see his friend.

Goku pulled away, looking down with a blink. It was as if he hadn't noticed anyone else in his excitement of seeing Bulma. He didn't exactly hop down or pull away, instead he just rested his head on Bulma's shoulder as he now looked down curiously at his friend.

"Oh! Hi Krillin. What are you guys doing here anyways?"

In all honestly, he hadn't noticed the others. He had just heard Bulma's voice and after learning about everything she had been through and all the lies she had received, he knew that she needed some care and affection- even if she had yet to really realize this. She seemed content to just hold him. If she wanted him down, she'd drop him and tell him so.

"What are we doing here?" Yamcha asked, unbelievingly, "We're here to help you fight the Red Ribbon Army, Goku! What were you thinking heading out to fight something that large by yourself?"

"The Red Ribbon Army?" Goku repeated, a little confused, "I didn't need any help. I already beat them. They weren't too tough, especially since that Mercenary Tao guy was already killed. He might have taken me a while if I had done it."

"Mer… Mercenary _Tao's_ dead?" Roshi stuttered as he stepped back, "Who killed the man?"

Goku blinked, looking at his master confused, "Yeah. He was attacking us, so Neko-san had no choice but to kill him. Tao almost killed Bora and was threatening to kill all of us. So Neko-san had to kill him."

"Neko-_san_?" Bulma blinked, cocking her head to the side, "I don't think I've ever heard you speak so formally."

"It's what everyone else calls him." Goku smiled, "You should have seen him, Bulma! It was amazing! He jumped in the way when Tao was about to kill Bora with his own spear and shoved the bigger man out of the way, taking the blow instead! Then he got back up and fought Tao with a huge gut wound on his side! If it hadn't been for Neko, Bora would have died and Uppa, Bora's son would have been very sad!"

"Is Neko-san alright?" It was Puar who asked first, breaking the surprised silence that had taken over the group. She had just seen him a few days ago.

"Oh, he's fine. Up and about again, it was about a week or so ago, before I climbed Korin's tower."

"Wait a minute," Roshi threw his hands up to pause, "Are you telling me that you _climbed_ Korin's tower! And received the Sacred Water?"

"Yeah. I just came from there. I would have come to beat them earlier, but I spent a day with Bora and Uppa and Neko-san before I left. We sparred all day. Neko wanted to make sure I was well prepared to fight an army." He paused, thinking, "Korin was tricky, but I got the hang of it after three days."

"Th-th-three days!" Master Roshi stuttered. "It took me three _YEARS_!"

"Yeah." Goku nodded, "Korin told me that. Thought I didn't beat Neko-san's record. He figured it out within two days."

"Two _days_!" Roshi's jaw dropped.

Never before had he thought something would be possible. He use to pride himself that he had been able to accomplish the feat in three years. After all, he had been the only one in for three hundred years. But apparently this generation had a few pups that could not only accomplish the very task, but faster than him.

"Yep. Neko-san's really strong, but he's really nice once he warms up to you." Goku assured them, resting his head on Bulma's shoulder. He suddenly felt sleepy.

Bulma smiled as she saw his eyes droop and watched him snuggle a bit closer to her. But she couldn't help but tease him, "You look tired, Goku. I thought you said that the Red Ribbon Army wasn't that hard."

"Yeah, they weren't," Goku let out a yawn, "But Neko-san and Bora are pretty strong. I'm still tired from my spar with them."

"Then you go ahead and take a nap," Bulma cooed at him, rocking him slightly in her arms.

"That sounds great, Bulma. I missed you."

Bulma blinked in surprise, but her heart fluttered happily at the open acknowledgement of their friendship. She hadn't received something like that in a while and it made her smile as she pulled him into a tighter hold, "I missed you too, Goku."

Goku gave her one last smile before falling completely asleep. Bulma looked up and around to where everyone was just staring at her and Goku. Yamcha didn't seem too pleased, Roshi still looked like he was going to go into shock, Krillin looked utterly jealous, Launch watched curiously, Oolong looked ready to leave, and Puar looked at conflict with herself. Bulma would have addressed it at that moment, but she knew Puar didn't like to worry Yamcha with her problems, despite how silly that was. Yamcha was suppose to be Puar's best friend, he wouldn't think that it was petty of her to share, but Puar was dead against troubling him with her problems. So, Bulma decided to address it later.

"Well, guess we can leave," She shrugged, starting to walk back to the ship.

"You're just going to let him do that?" Yamcha's voice called out to her, pointing at the boy that cuddled her as he slept on her. "You do remember that he's thirteen now, right?"

Bulma blinked in shock to the bold statement. No, she hadn't forgotten. Though she had been surprised when he had revealed his age, she had gotten over it. Goku was like her little brother… though it made her wonder how old _he_ had been. It would make sense about _his_ strange perception of what was proper and not proper for her to do around _him_. But she still wasn't sure how much older he had really been. Maybe _he_ was around Goku's age. Maybe younger.

"It's not like he's going to grope me, Yamcha. He's like a little brother, chill out." She snapped, before rolling her eyes, "Men. You're so territorial, aren't you?"

And with that, she headed back into the vehicle, waiting for the rest of them to follow suit. It was obvious to her that if Goku said he wiped them all out, then it was the truth. The boy didn't know _how_ to lie. She chalked it up to a Sayian characteristic that he was unfiltered when it came to telling the truth. Though Goku was much more optimistic about the truth rather than _him_. _He_ was always looking at the world with a pessimistic outlook, like the world- no, the _universe_- was out to get him. _He_ told it like he saw it, never caring if it dampered the mood.

Tears were pricking at her eyes as she fought them off. It still hurt to think of him. To think of the betrayal, hurt, and confusion he had left in her heart like a festering wound… Why'd he have to do that? She hugged Goku's sleeping form tighter to her as she buried her face into his shoulder, holding back her tears. Goku was her light in all this. He never judged her, always had a smile on his face, wasn't afraid of anything, loved to laugh, had a playful nature that inspired her so, and so many other good qualities opposed to the others, but it didn't mean he didn't remind her painfully of the other Saiyan.

_…Kami… I still miss him._

* * *

Goku hated it when he felt like he wasn't being truthful, but it couldn't be helped. He couldn't tell them the whole truth without Yamcha catching on or hurting Bulma even more. Vegeta had a plan which Goku knew none of the details about other than his need for the wish the dragon balls gave. Though it may be foolish of him, Goku was following the older Saiyan blindly without any further reason than the other asked him to trust him.

And so, he was going to do just that. Vegeta had never led him astray before, and he doubted the surely Saiyan would purposely do so without taking the brunt of the damage on himself. That's just how Vegeta was, so Goku was willing to follow. Plus, he wasn't a leader. Vegeta was a natural at leading while Goku was a natural at assisting. They worked perfectly together, or at least that's what he thought.

Looking around again, he made sure everyone in Kame's house was sound asleep. He had asked Bulma earlier about the radar, asking if it was broken since it wasn't showing the other ball, but nothing was wrong apparently. Goku shrugged it off, giving her a huge hug and 'thank you' before telling her not to worry about it since the Red Ribbon Army was no longer a threat.

So now he was leaving to ask Vegeta what they should do next. If the radar couldn't find it, then how else could they achieve the wish? He had already told Bulma that he would probably leave during the night- not trusting Yamcha to not make-up a lie about him too. He had mentioned needing to get in touch with a friend and that he'd be leaving in the early hours in hopes to meet back up with them in the afternoon or so. Bulma looked a little sad, but agreed. She was adventured out at the moment. Or so she said.

He thought she looked a little sad.

Anyways, shaking his head of the sadder thoughts, he needed to get back to Korin's tower in order to regroup with the other Saiyan. He was almost out the door with something in the living room moved.

"You're going to go see _Neko-san,_ aren't you?" The high pitched voice he immediately identified as Puar's asked.

Goku turned around, rubbing the back of his head with a guilty grin, "Yeah. Looks like you caught me. I thought everyone would be sleeping still."

"I'm nocturnal, Goku." Puar informed him before gliding from where she had hidden and floated before him, "I want to go too."

Goku looked around. It wasn't in his plan to take someone with him. That was _why_ he had gotten up so early to leave. Yamcha and Krillin had seemed interested in going with him and he wasn't about to let Yamcha figure out what really was going on. Ever since he had found out what Yamcha had done, he didn't feel like he could trust him. In fact, if anything, it was easier to see the deceitful aura around him now. Puar was Yamcha's best friend, so Goku wasn't sure whose side she'd take. She was a good cat, but her loyalty to Yamcha could cause her not to see the truth.

"I don't know… I don't think it's a good idea…"

"I've already met him." Puar stated, crossing her arms and looking at the little Saiyan firmly. "I need to talk with him again before anything else happens. I need to know what I'm getting into."

Goku blinked. "You mean, you know?"

Puar's expression saddened as she looked away, nodding. "I didn't want to believe it, but he was right. The other cats could testify his innocence. Now I'm just worried about Bulma. Please Goku. I need to talk to him."

"Alright." Goku sighed, "But when I take you back, you gotta come up with a reason for why I would take you and not everyone else. I don't like to lie. It's wrong."

"I understand." Puar nodded, giving him a small smile.

"Well then, we should get going then before anyone else wakes up. I can only take so many people on the nimbus and I don't even know if it'll let you ride."

"Well, if it doesn't, you'll just have to carry me," Puar smiled already heading out the door. "I mean, I can fly, but it takes a lot out of me if I fly for too long."

"Yeah, I noticed that," Goku nodded, quietly closing the door before calling for nimbus. He had asked the cloud to stick close by so he didn't wake anyone up when he called it, so he was quite glad when it appeared after the quieter summon.

After hopping onto the cloud, he sat Puar in his lap, not having to worry over her falling since he was holding on to her.

"Nimbus, can you please take up to Korin's tower as quickly as possible? I need to get there fast." Goku spoke politely to the cloud before it took off like a shot.

After a few minutes, Goku was curious again about the little cat in his lap.

"So you're really the one that Neko-san was talking about? I thought it was you, but why would you want to be a human, Puar?"

"You wouldn't understand, Goku," Puar sighed as she watched the scenery speed by, "You're already a human. You can go and do things that cats just can't do- aren't allowed to do. It's very hard for a cat like me, you know. Especially since I'm the only one of my kind that I have _ever_ met."

"Oh. Well… I'm actually from an alien race called Saiya-jin. From what I've been told, our numbers are down to five or so. But then again, I do look like a human enough to blend in, unlike you. So I guess I wouldn't understand all that well. But if I couldn't fit in, I think I would be very sad."

"Oh I'm sorry Goku! I didn't know," Puar said with a sad gleam in her eyes.

"It's okay. I never knew anyone other than Grandpa Gohan before Bulma showed up. It's Neko that remembers everything and all that was lost. He told me that out planet was destroyed by meteorites. That's why I think he has a hard time losing Bulma. She was everything to him during his stay with them. Or at least, that's what I think."

Puar was surprised at the astuteness of the young Saiyan. Every other time she had seen him, he was gullible and innocent, but… was that just a persona he put up when around other people? She couldn't tell just yet, but it seemed to her that she wasn't the only one with a few midnight secrets.

The two of them were quiet for the rest of the trip, the sun barely on the rise when they reached a lone tower surrounded by acres and acres of forest.

"Usually I'd go say hi to Bora and Uppa, but we're going to go to Korin's tower. He can probably get us in touch with Neko since he lives even higher up." Goku informed her, gently picking her up and pushing her towards his back, "hold on, it will take a while."

The nimbus took them as far as it could go before Goku hopped off, surprising Puar as he began to quickly scale the large tower, never once slipping as he climbed up. It was a matter of an hour before they reached the top, where they were greeted with a quaint little living area.

"Master Korin!" Goku shouted as soon as he had set Puar down. She immediately began to hover as a force of habit as she continued to look about.

"Upstairs," came a call in reply and Goku smiled as he ushered the little grey-blue cat to the terrace above.

Puar was a little nervous as she followed, not knowing what to expect, but was clearly shocked when she laid eyes on the old white cat that stood before them with a staff in hand. He was rounder than her, but she could tell he was wise and crafty. If anything, he was another of her own kind.

"Master Korin!" Goku greeted with a bow, "My friend, Puar, and I need to get a hold of Vegeta. Do you think you can get in contact with him?"

Korin chuckled, but shook his head, "Nope. I'm a mind reader. It doesn't go the other way around too well, kid. The only way you can reach Vegeta is to go up to Kami's lookout yourself." He then glanced at the little cat, "Puar, is it? I haven't seen too many cats like you now days. Our kind are few and far between. It is an honor to meet you."

"And an honor to meet you," Puar agreed with a lady like bow. She suddenly felt a pang of guilt for her wish. By wishing herself to be human, she would lose kinship with such a kind cat as this one. No doubt also losing Soreya as well when she no longer could understand neko-go.

"You judge yourself to harshly, little one. Plus, if you make the wish properly, you'll still might retain your magnificent powers. Don't think too much into it, there is a huge amount of possibilities available to you if you do this." Korin interrupted her train of thought. He grinned as he rubbed the back of his head, "Forgive me for reading your mind, but you were thinking it so loudly it was hard not to hear it. I usually attempt to get permission before reading another's mind, you see."

Puar blinked a few timed before giving him a grateful smile and bowing again, "Thank you for your kind words, Korin-sama."

"No problem." He laughed happily, "I just wish I could help you guys more since you came all the way up here, but the only way to reach Kami's lookout is if you can fly great distances or have the legendary power pole."

"The power pole?" Goku blinked reaching behind him to unsheathe the red pole from its container, "You mean this?"

Korin's jaw dropped for a moment before he cackled happily, "I shouldn't be so surprised that you have it, but I am! It's just like you to have some of the most legendary items on complete accident, but yes, that is what you need to get up to Kami's Lookout."

"Yay!" Goku cheered, throwing his hands up in the air as he laughed happily, "I was worried for a moment that it'd be a little harder than that!" He soon calmed down, looking at the old white cat, hands down at his side again, "So how do I use it to get us up there?"

"On the top of the roof is a round hole made just for the power pole to fit. Place it in there and tell it to extend. Not too hard." Korin shrugged, "When you get to the top, there will be a ladder available to climb to the top with. Someone will be there to greet you. Who, I'm not sure, but either Mr. Popo, Vegeta, or Kami himself."

"Thank you so much!" Goku bowed respectfully, "That really helps!"

"No problem. I don't mind helping, especially someone as entertaining as you," Korin chuckled. "Don't be a stranger, come back to visit me anytime." He paused and glanced at Puar before adding, "You too."

"Thank you," Puar bowed, before she and Goku began to climb to the top of the tower.

There, like Korin had said, was the niche where the power pole fit in perfectly. Without hesitating, Goku placed one end in the slot and grabbed hold of Puar before bellowing "power pole extent!" into the heavens, the pole responding quickly to the command.

Puar decided that she had never been so high before, as she stared around her watching the clouds turn from puffy white to dark storm clouds with lightning cackling inside of them. She had to look at Goku for the remainder of the time in order to keep herself from panicking. He, however, didn't seem afraid at all. In fact, he was watching with great enthusasim. His eyes twinkling at the lightning sparks that danced too close in Puar's mind.

"Does nothing frighten you?" Puar squeaked in disbelief as she clung tighter to Goku as one bolt nearly hit them.

"Not this. I don't know why, but I feel at ease when I look at this storm. It reminds me of something that I think I forgot before I met Grampa Gohan." Goku looked about one more time before speaking again, "You don't have to worry much longer, the storm's going away and I think I see the top. Or is it the bottom?"

"It doesn't matter," Puar shivered as one last bolt of lightning flashed right behind her with a deafening crack, "As long as we're not in the middle of _this_ anymore!"

Goku just let out a humored chuckled before shifting his hold on the pole. Suddenly, just like Goku had said, the sky cleared and they were slowing to a stop. With a small click, the top of the power pole fit perfectly in the niche that had been made at the bottom of the place.

"Looks like we're here!" Goku beamed as he looked about, noticing the ladder that was placed there to get to the top of this- whatever this was. "Hold on a little longer Puar, and we'll be at the top!"

Puar felt like crying by the time Goku got them to the side. He had slipped on the way up and she was sure they were going to die had it not been for his tail grabbing onto the metal ladder again.

"That was fun!" Goku laughed as he pulled himself up onto the tiled ground and easily pried Puar off of him. "I'll definitely have to do that again!"

The poor little cat was too frazzled to say anything to the young Saiyan. She couldn't wait to find _Neko-san_ if only to have someone _sane_ between her and Goku for a little while.

"May Popo assist you two in any way?"

Puar instantly turned her attention to the speaker, shocked to see the black skinned man standing there. He looked like he was human enough, but his outfit as well as his black (literately jet black) skin made him seem more than just a human. He almost looked out of place, like he was from a different time.

"Oh, hello," Goku, as friendly as ever, greeted the man without a bat of an eyelash at Mr. Popo's appearance, "We were looking for Vegeta. Is he here?"

"Yes, young Master Vegeta is here. He is currently with Master Kami. May Popo escort you two to them?" Mr. Popo asked them with a blank face.

Goku was just standing too close to the edge of the- whatever this was- hands on his head with a laid back look on his face. Puar figured that he hadn't understood what Mr. Popo had said to them, but almost hissed angrily at the child when the blunt question came out of his mouth.

"Why do you talk so funny?"

"Goku!" Puar chided as she shot him an angry look.

"What? I'm just curious."

Instead of being offended like Puar had thought he'd be, Mr. Popo just gave them an amused looked as well as light chuckle. "Do not worry, little cat, Popo takes no offense. Popo speaks this way because that is always how Popo has spoken."

"Oh. Okay. I guess that makes sense." Goku nodded, "So can you escort us to where Vegeta is now?"

"Yes." Mr. Popo said before turning around, "Follow Popo."

"Thank you," Goku beamed, before following him, leaving Puar dumbfounded for a moment.

Goku had never shown that he understood a big vocabulary. He spoke with simple words and never really used large words or metaphors, so Puar was a little surprised to see how much he really understood. She quickly shook off her shock and caught up to the two, following as Mr. Popo led them to the small palace building in the center of the platform.

There, in a small open sitting area was Vegeta in a meditative form while a tall old green man sat behind him with a hand upon the older Saiyan's head. The old man's eyes open as he looked at the two with a smile.

"Vegeta, it looks like you have some guests," a green hand pulled away from the lad underneath it, "I will leave you to your company. Your healing session is done for today."

Vegeta immediately opened his eyes, laying them first on Goku before looking at Puar. He then pulled himself up from his sitting position to quickly bow to the green man behind him as a form of respect and gratitude. The old man chuckled and, with the company of Mr. Popo, left to give the three privacy.

"You've already collected the rest of the Dragon Balls?" Vegeta asked, getting right to the point, "I thought that army would be a bit more challenging then that."

"Nah, they were pretty easy." Goku shrugged, "A lot of them ran away too, so it wasn't as fun as it could have been. I got their Dragon Balls… but I'm missing one and its not showing up and the radar."

"Then why is she here?" Vegeta glanced at Puar with a pointed gaze.

"Puar had some questions for you," Goku reported, nonplussed at the gruff attitude of his good friend.

"It can wait." Puar hastily, not wanting the be put in the spotlight with the callous Saiyan as her only audience.

"You believe me though," Vegeta pointed out with a small smirk as he sat back down into a meditative position, "Otherwise you would have avoided me entirely."

His eyes stared hard at her, but she didn't feel like he was casting cold glares at her, but merely watching her for sincerity. Unlike Goku, Vegeta was a skeptic. He didn't trust people right away and had more common sense then Goku seemed to have- though Goku seemed to have more than he let on. Goku was easy going, Vegeta was strict. It was almost humorous to see the two of them together and comfortable with each other.

"Yes," Puar nodded, looking down with a grim look, "Soreya confirmed your innocences to me. She said that you left after writing a letter and on _good_ terms with the Briefs."

"Soreya?" Vegeta raised his brow at the name, "I am unfamiliar with such a person."

"Cat." Puar corrected, "Just because I can speak the human tongue doesn't mean I can't understand cats as well. I am a _cat_ after all. Soreya is Scratch's cat name."

Vegeta nodded. Now Scratch was a name he recognized. So that little cat was as smart as he thought she had been. Since the first time he met the little black feline, he noticed an impressive decrease in the amount of cats that'd follow him. She would only on occasion leave Briefs's shoulder to cuddle with him, but he figure it a good reward for the cat that made the other cats back off.

He'd have to remember to pet her for a couple minutes for turning Puar's sympathies to him over her precious bandit. Onto other matters, however.

"You said the last Dragon Ball is no where to be found on the radar?"

"Yeah," Goku nodded, "I asked Bulma about it, but she said nothing was wrong with it. She also said something about maybe organic tissue is blocking the signal. By the way, Vegeta… what's organic tissue?"

Puar waited for Vegeta to roll his eyes and ignore the question but was surprised when he kept his patience and answered in steady voice. "Organic means living substance, like you or me. We are organic beings. Tissue also refers to a living substance. It is material that makes up things like organs and other parts of the body. There are several more meanings for those words, but in this case, that is what organic tissue pertains to."

"Oh. Okay." Goku nodded and beamed at Vegeta with a huge smile as his tail waved back and forth, "So it could have been eaten by an animal thought it was food?"

"Yes," Vegeta conceded, but sighed wearily, "But that means we have to wait or look for whatever might have eaten it- if it was eaten. That could take forever."

"Is there another way to find it?" Goku asked. "Maybe that man with the silly hat or the green person can help us."

"Mr. Popo or Kami?" Vegeta mused, "It's worth a shot. Perhaps the Namekian would know."

"Namekian?" Goku tilted his head in question.

"The _green_ person- Kami. He is the Guardian of Earth, perhaps he knows where to find it." Vegeta reiterated for the boy.

He wasn't usually a patient person, but he'd rather answer Goku's questions than have the young Saiyan pup grow up ignorant and stupid. It wouldn't reflect well on the Saiyan race if people thought that they all were like Goku would have been. The younger Saiyan held great promise, however, at learning, as long as the person was patient enough to answer _all_ his questions.

He got up, and began to lead them to where he knew the Namekian would be at the moment.

"What's a Namekian?"

"Alien from Namek. Genderless. Telepath, healer, very in tune with ki in everything." Vegeta explained vaguely.

"Oh. So not a boy or a girl?" Goku continued his questioning.

"The Nameks prefer to be identified as 'he's' than 'its'." Vegeta snapped back.

Puar followed silently, watching as the two walk down the different halls of the small looking palace, now out of the courtyard. However, instead of the inside being a few rooms, it was practically a maze of halls and rooms. Puar wondered how it was even possible to have this many rooms in one tiny palace unless there was some strange force at work.

"What about Mr. Popo? Is he really a human? I've never seen one that black. And what's that thing on his head?" Goku kept questioning.

Puar could see Vegeta's jaw tighten and his fists tighten for a second before answering. "He's a Djinn. The 'thing' on his head is a turban. It's a hat."

"A Djinn?" Puar asked in shock, "But those are just mythical creatures from Arabic legends."

"Some myths have factual base." Vegeta lectured as he continued to lead them, "Though there are but a few that remained here on Earth after the humans figured out how to seal them and keep them as slaves, the Djinn did exist in the Ancient of the Old World's Middle East. He's a Jann. The weakest kind of Djinn."

"Wow," Goku's tail was wagging excitedly as he listened, "So what's he doing here?"

"He was brought here by a past Guardian of Earth. He has been here as a spiritual servant ever since then. Djinn are as close to immortal as a race can get." Vegeta finished up before opening a door and letting the two smaller beings through before entering it himself.

Inside, sat Kami, pulled up to a table. The room was filled with many strange objects- like statues, pottery, books, and the like. Kami's eyes were closed as he concentrated on a bowl of water that was placed in front of him. He looked up with a gentle smile when he noticed his company.

"You have a question for me, boy?" He asked knowingly.

"Yes. It seems that something is blocking the energy signal of the last Dragon Ball that has yet been collected." Vegeta explained.

"And you were hoping I could find it." Kami chuckled with good nature, "You have already collected six. But the one star Dragon Ball remains hidden from you."

"What! How did you know I was missing the one star Dragon Ball! Did you read my mind?" Goku asked rather surprise. He was the only one who knew which ones he had.

The Namekian chuckled again, "I did not need to read any of your minds. I can sense them in your backpack without any trouble. They tell me of your journey and deeds you have done for others."

This was the first Vegeta had ever heard of this either, "You can communicate with the Dragon Balls?"

"No," Kami shook his head, "I can communicate with the essence of the dragon that sleeps in them. He and I are not too dissimilar."

"Dissimilar?" Goku cocked his head to the side.

"Different." Vegeta reiterated for him. "And how, Namekian, are you and the dragon not so 'dissimilar'?"

The old Namek laughed again before looking at all three of them with great amusement dancing in his eyes, "because, Vegeta, I made him."


End file.
